Tragedy, philosophy, and political education in Plato's "Laws"
Cover -- Tragedy, Philosophy, and Political Education in Plato's Laws -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction: Interpreting Plato's Laws -- The Athenian's Ambitions and Ambivalence -- Scholarly Approaches and Methods -- Who Is the Athen...
| Σύνοψη: | Cover -- Tragedy, Philosophy, and Political Education in Plato's Laws -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction: Interpreting Plato's Laws -- The Athenian's Ambitions and Ambivalence -- Scholarly Approaches and Methods -- Who Is the Athenian Stranger? -- The Argument -- 2. The Character of Kleinias -- The Education of Kleinias as a Framework for the Dialogue -- Kleinias at First Sight: Cynical, Fearful, Acquisitive, Thumoeidetic -- Down to the Foundations: Kleinias' Materialism -- The Athenian's Teleological Reply: Souls, Goats, Symposia, and Cities -- Communities of Practice: Goats, Symposia, and Cities -- Kleinias' Tyrannical Ambitions -- Consonance Achieved through the Advent of a "God" -- 3. The Politics and Psychology of Human History -- The Archaeology of Kleinias: Early Human History -- The Early History of Lacedaimon and the Dorians -- The Regime's Goal: A Retrospective Account -- Ignorance and Wisdom: A New Interpretation -- Fortifying the Law against Tyrants -- The Self-Destructiveness of Persian Tyranny -- Reinterpreting Democracy in Archaic Athens -- 4. A New Beginning: Founding Magnesia -- The "Existential" Framework -- The True Legislator and the Young Tyrant -- Religion and the New Regime -- Rule of Law, Rule of Nous -- Thrasymachus' Challenge and the Seven Titles to Rule -- Conclusion: Direct and Indirect Rule -- 5. Persuasive Preambles -- Preambles and the Two Doctors at a Glance -- Persuasion versus Force: Revisiting the Case of the Young Tyrant -- The Athenian's Purposes: "Tameness" and "Savagery" -- Hesiod and the Athenian on the Benefits of Virtue -- The Lawgiver and the Poets -- "Caring" Legislation: Persuasion toward Eudaimonism -- Free Doctor and Slave Doctor: Persuasion, Trust, and Nature -- Reason and Emotion in the Preambles. "What are the prospects for ambitious political reform in communities of traditional, passionate, and even self-righteous citizens? Can thoughtful legislators create a healthy society for citizens whose judgment is typically unsound? In a searching and provocative analysis, Ryan Balot addresses these timely - though universal - political questions by offering a novel interpretation of Plato's Laws. Turning to the ancient past is essential to reinvigorating our contemporary understanding of these all-important issues. Previous readers have either celebrated the work's idealism or denounced its totalitarianism. Balot, by contrast, refuses to interpret the dialogue as a political blueprint, whether admirable or misguided. He shows instead that it constitutes Plato's greatest philosophical investigation of political life. In this transformative re-appraisal, Balot reveals that Plato's goal was to cultivate a tragic attitude toward our political passions, commitments, and aspirations. The result is a profound political inquiry with far-reaching consequences"-- |
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| Περιγραφή τεκμηρίου: | Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources |
| Φυσική περιγραφή: | 1 online resource (441 pages) |
| ISBN: | 978-0-19-764724-0 |
