The Significance and Ancient Roots of Fraternity

Abstract

Reaching back to the sources and the meaning of essential European values is of great importance to creating the vision of democracy and freedom. This applies also to values such as fraternity. The root thereof is found in pre-ancient poetry, later in the reflection of early philosophers – especially of the Sophists and the Stoics. Fraternity stands for the common descent, background, and heritage of humans. Descriptions of social reality nowadays reveal various forms of discrimination, e.g. on account of passing over the imperative of fraternity. A guarantee of only majority decision-making without common kindness as defined by C. Znamierowski and without fraternity will not make a system democratic. In such circumstances, the righteousness of legal acts is also debatable.