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Full Idea
For early Greeks their techné for life was to take care of the city, of companions (see Plato's 'Alcibiades'). Taking care of yourself for its own sake starts with the Epicureans, and becomes very general in Seneca and Pliny.
Gist of Idea
Early Greeks cared about city and companions; later Greeks concentrated on the self
Source
Michel Foucault (On the Genealogy of Ethics [1983], p.260)
Book Ref
Foucault,Michel: 'Essential Works 1954-1984 I: Ethics', ed/tr. Rabinow,Paul [Penguin 1994], p.260
A Reaction
In Aristotle the two strike me as ideally balanced - to become a wonderful citizen by looking after yourself. Presumably the destruction of the city-states by Alexander took away the motive, and the aim became more private.
| 7498 | Greeks and early Christians were much more concerned about food than about sex [Foucault] |
| 7500 | Early Greeks cared about city and companions; later Greeks concentrated on the self [Foucault] |
| 7501 | Why couldn't a person's life become a work of art? [Foucault] |