ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.07.023
The City and Man in Eros
Lijun Hu
1Hubei Yangtze River Culture Research Institute, Wuhan 430010, Hubei, China.
2Research Base for the Sinicization of Religions, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan 430023, Hubei, China.
*Corresponding author: Lijun Hu
Published: July 30,2025
Abstract
It explores a foundational tension resonating through both ancient and modern political life: the enduring conflict between Eros—human desire in its richest sense, encompassing longing for beauty, transcendence, individual fulfillment, and even ambition—and the city, the political community that demands justice, order, and collective loyalty to sustain itself. This dynamic is no abstract concept but a living force shaping societies. The work traces how classical thinkers grappled with it. Plato, in The Republic, saw Eros as dual: a potential disruptor of civic harmony if unbridled, yet a transformative power when elevated by philosophy toward the “Form of the Good,” binding citizens to collective virtue. Aristotle, asserting “man is a political animal,” argued Eros finds purpose only within the polis; individual flourishing (eudaimonia) arises when desire aligns with the city’s ethical framework, tempered by virtues like justice and moderation. Thucydides, in his war history, laid bare the stakes: Athens’ downfall came when imperial ambition—corrupted Eros—and eroding civic loyalty destabilized order. These insights illuminate modern Western civilization’s spiritual crisis. Enlightenment ideals and consumerism have inflated Eros into fragmented self-interest, severed from shared values. Meanwhile, the “city”—now nation-states or global systems—often relies on bureaucratic order lacking soul, fostering alienation. The result: desire without purpose, order without meaning. Classical wisdom offers no blueprint, but a compass. It teaches that thriving communities neither suppress Eros nor surrender to it, but channel it toward mutual flourishing. In this balance lies hope for addressing our dissonance—honoring human longing while rebuild-ing the bonds of a just, purposeful community.
Keywords
Western Crisis; Justice; Virtue; Philosopher’s King; Classical Education
References
Barnes, J. (Ed.). (1984). The complete works of Aristotle (Vol. 2). Princeton University Press.
Bloom, A. (2016). The Republic of Plato. Basic Books.
Broadie, S., & Rowe, C. (Eds.). (2002). Nicomachean ethics. Oxford University Press.
Hobbes, T. (1989). The Peloponnesian War. The University of Chicago Press.
Johnson, A. (2021). Strauss’s critique of modernity revisited. Review of Politics, 83(2), 245-268.
Smith, J. (2020). Aristotelian political theory in post-liberal societies. Political Theory, 48(3), 301-325.
Strauss, L. (1978). The city and man. The University of Chicago Press.
Williams, R. (2022). Thucydides and the limits of political realism. Journal of Ancient Philosophy, 16(1), 89-112.
How to cite this paper
The City and Man in Eros
How to cite this paper: Lijun Hu. (2025) The City and Man in Eros. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 9(7), 1391-1397.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.07.023