https://at-ceu.studyguide.timeedit.net/modules/UGST4204?type=COREAncient Greek society, in all its different varieties, was through and through competitive in all different activities imaginable. This could happen in the framework of contests, but it proliferated deep into everyday life: Hesiod speaks about 'envy' between potter and potter, builder and builder, beggar and beggar, and poet and poet (Works and Days 24-26). Competition needs assessment - one needs to compare performances. Such comparisons may be straightforward. But this is not always the case, disputes may arise.In this course we will look at two interrelated topics. One, what kind of alternative explanatory frameworks were available for participants in these competitive activities. These will range from narrative and literary presentations to philosophical accounts about human nature and explanations of different forms of social order, some of them defective and some of them claimed to be optimal. The other major topic will be how competitive interactions are aligned with different conceptions of the political. This will include discussion of their contexts, the formulation of arguments, how these are elaborated in dialectical discussion and how the interlocutors shift their position. We will also look at restrictions and exclusions: who are allowed to participate, who are invited to evaluate these arguments, and on what grounds , what psychological factors are taken into consideration.