Short Paper 1
Anna Kelchner
Professor Chupp
Govt 490
September 28, 2020
The Classical and Medieval Bodies Politics
Body politic is an ancient metaphoric word that was used in Western political thought in
which compared the society, state, institutions or church to a biological body. The classical and
medieval body politics are very different, but both were influenced by thinkers such as Plato,
Aristotle, and Socrates. During the time of the classical body politic, government was not very
effective. This metaphor of the different parts of the body working together traces back to
scripture and is specifically seen in Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-28, the church is
described as many members working together to do the work of God. Although the metaphor
means the same for both, one of the differences between classical and medieval body politic is
that different body parts represent different things. Thus saying, the health of the body politic
was a cooperation between all parts of the body which displayed that every part was necessary.
Therefore, every worker in society must do their part and keep up with their assigned task work
in order to function well and stay “healthy”.
