Lincoln on A Homeric Analysis of the US Constitution @cealiv @univgroningen

Charles Edward Andrew Lincoln, IV, University of Groningen, Faculty of Law, has published A Homeric Analysis of the US Constitution. Here is the abstract.

This article offers an interpretation of the United States’ structure of government outlined in the Constitution from the perspective of Ancient Greek poetry – specifically the Homeric tradition based on The Iliad and The Odyssey. Simultaneously it seeks to analyze and explain the continued three-part structure of the United States federal government as outlined in the Constitution. Subsequently, this article defines the three parts of the federal government—judiciary, executive, and legislative—as explained through the lens of the Homeric Ancient Greek account of the Judgment of Paris where Paris of Troy is given a “choice” to pick among three goddesses regarding the fate of Troy. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paradigmatically, the goddesses as such are Aphrodite, Aphrodite, and Athena whereby Aphrodite represents the legislative function, Hera represents the executive function, and Athena represents the judicial functions of government in the U.S. system of government. This article picks up from where a previous article by this author titled A Structural Etiology of the U.S. Constitution. That article also provided a tripartite analysis of the U.S. Constitution. However, the analysis occurred through the lense of Plato’s tripartite conception of the soul where (logos = word = law), (thymos = external driving spirit = executive), and (eros = general welfare = legislative) extrapolated from the Plato’s dialogues.

First, this article establishes a working understanding of the Homeric account and references to the Judgement of Paris. The Homeric account of the Judgement of Paris and the representation of the three goddesses is the major premise – as in a syllogism. Second, the article lays out the generally accepted division of the U.S. Constitution of 1789 as laying out three parts to the federal government – the legislative as described in Article I, the executive as described in Article II, and the judicial as described in Article III. This second part represents the minor premise. Third, the syllogism completes by weaving in the major premise of the three goddesses in the Judgment of Paris into the three parts of the United States federal government. This third step of application suggests possible future evolution of the structure.

This article fits into the wider issue of the functionally efficient and naturally adaptive structure of the U.S. federal government. Providing a historical and poetic context to this structural analysis will serve as a framework for future research on the operation of the federal government. When the branches of the federal government step out of their roles, then the balance of the structure of the federal government becomes disrupted occurring in liminal periods of paradigmatic change.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.