Plato on Justice and Power

Plato on Justice and Power PDF

Author: Kimon Lycos

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1987-01-01

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 9780887064159

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Most commentaries on the Republic rush through Book I with embarrassment because the arguments of the participants, including Socrates, are specious. Beginning with Book II, the arguments are brilliant, so why did Plato write Book I? Lycos shows that the function of Book I is to attack the view that justice is external to the soul--external to the power humans have to render things good--and is merely instrumental to a good society. The dramatic situation in Book I presents justice as internal, requiring not laws, but discrimination and virtue. After this introduction, the rest of the Republic serves to sketch out what virtue is and how to practice discrimination. Plato on Justice and Power ends with some illuminating contrasts between this sense of virtue and that characteristic of our modern liberal politics which takes an external view of justice similar to the Athenians view at the time of Plato.

Plato on Justice and Power

Plato on Justice and Power PDF

Author: Kimon Lycos

Publisher: Springer

Published: 1987-05-27

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1349084859

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Book 1 of Plato's Republic is often treated as a merely negative prelude to the theory of justice presented in the main body of that book. This study argues that, though an introduction to later ideas, Book 1 has its own positive theme and function: to press for the acceptance of a certain perspective on justice that is opposed to conventional interpretations of it. This perspective requires that justice be seen as 'internal' to the power human beings have to render things (including themselves and their societies) good. The analysis of Plato's dramatic characterisation, as well as the discussion of Socrates' arguments, is guided by the thought that they form aspects of a complex overall strategy through which Plato hopes to overcome the resistance of his contemporaries to the 'Socratic' perspective on justice.

The Republic

The Republic PDF

Author: Plato

Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub

Published: 2014-02-07

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 9781495202179

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The Republic of Plato is the longest of his works with the exception of the Laws, and is certainly the greatest of them. There are nearer approaches to modern metaphysics in the Philebus and in the Sophist; the Politicus or Statesman is more ideal; the form and institutions of the State are more clearly drawn out in the Laws; as works of art, the Symposium and the Protagoras are of higher excellence. But no other Dialogue of Plato has the same largeness of view and the same perfection of style; no other shows an equal knowledge of the world, or contains more of those thoughts which are new as well as old, and not of one age only but of all. Nowhere in Plato is there a deeper irony or a greater wealth of humour or imagery, or more dramatic power. Nor in any other of his writings is the attempt made to interweave life and speculation, or to connect politics with philosophy. The Republic is the centre around which the other Dialogues may be grouped; here philosophy reaches the highest point (cp, especially in Books V, VI, VII) to which ancient thinkers ever attained. Plato among the Greeks, like Bacon among the moderns, was the first who conceived a method of knowledge, although neither of them always distinguished the bare outline or form from the substance of truth; and both of them had to be content with an abstraction of science which was not yet realized. He was the greatest metaphysical genius whom the world has seen; and in him, more than in any other ancient thinker, the germs of future knowledge are contained. [...]

Plato's 'Republic': An Introduction

Plato's 'Republic': An Introduction PDF

Author: Sean McAleer

Publisher: Open Book Publishers

Published: 2020-11-09

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1800640560

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It is an excellent book – highly intelligent, interesting and original. Expressing high philosophy in a readable form without trivialising it is a very difficult task and McAleer manages the task admirably. Plato is, yet again, intensely topical in the chaotic and confused world in which we are now living. Philip Allott, Professor Emeritus of International Public Law at Cambridge University This book is a lucid and accessible companion to Plato’s Republic, throwing light upon the text’s arguments and main themes, placing them in the wider context of the text’s structure. In its illumination of the philosophical ideas underpinning the work, it provides readers with an understanding and appreciation of the complexity and literary artistry of Plato’s Republic. McAleer not only unpacks the key overarching questions of the text – What is justice? And Is a just life happier than an unjust life? – but also highlights some fascinating, overlooked passages which contribute to our understanding of Plato’s philosophical thought. Plato’s 'Republic': An Introduction offers a rigorous and thought-provoking analysis of the text, helping readers navigate one of the world’s most influential works of philosophy and political theory. With its approachable tone and clear presentation, it constitutes a welcome contribution to the field, and will be an indispensable resource for philosophy students and teachers, as well as general readers new to, or returning to, the text.

The Republic

The Republic PDF

Author: Plato

Publisher:

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789357481755

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The Republic is one of the most important dialogues of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It is renowned for its detailed expositions of political and ethical justice. Unlike his early or Socratic dialogues, the Republic reflects the positive views of Plato himself. The middle dialogues are literary as well as philosophical masterpieces. In The Republic, Plato sets out to explain what justice is and why doing what is right is to everyone's best benefit. Socrates suggests that this investigation can be furthered by looking at justice ""writ large"" in a perfect society. The ideal state, according to Plato, consists of three social classes: the rulers, the guardians (or warriors), and the producers (e.g., farmers and craftsmen). The three components of a person's soul-reason, spirit, and appetite-are social classes. While appetite has the customary low preferences for food, drink, and sex, the spirit is focused on honor and competitive principles. A situation similar to political justice is justice in the individual, often known as ethical justice. Each component of the soul is in full operation, and there is psychic harmony.

Plato's Invisible Cities

Plato's Invisible Cities PDF

Author: Adi Ophir

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-09-10

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 1134959737

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This book offers an original and detailed reading of Plato's Republic, one of the most influential philosophical works in the emergence of Western philosophy. The author discusses the Republic in terms of discursive events and political acts. Plato's act is placed in the context of a politico-discursive crisis in Athens at the end of the fifth and the beginning of the fourth century B.C that gave rise to the dialogue's primary question, that of justice. The originality of Dr. Ophir lies in the way he reconstructs the Republic's different spatial settings - utopian, mythical, dramatic and discursive - using them as the main thread of his interpretation. Against the background of Plato's critique of the organisation of civic-space in the Greek polis, the author relates the spatial settings in the Plato text to each other. This provides a basis for a re-examination of the relationship between philosophy and politics, which Plato's work advocates, and which it actually enacted.

Plato's Second Republic

Plato's Second Republic PDF

Author: André Laks

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2022-11-29

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 0691236062

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An argument for why Plato’s Laws can be considered his most important political dialogue In Plato's Second Republic, André Laks argues that the Laws, Plato’s last and longest dialogue, is also his most important political work, surpassing the Republic in historical relevance. Laks offers a thorough reappraisal of this less renowned text, and examines how it provides a critical foundation for the principles of lawmaking. In doing so, he makes clear the tremendous impact the Laws had not only on political philosophy, but also on modern political history. Laks shows how the four central ideas in the Laws—the corruptibility of unchecked power, the rule of law, a “middle” constitution, and the political necessity of legislative preambles—are articulated within an intricate and masterful literary architecture. He reveals how the work develops a theological conception of law anchored in political ideas about a god, divine reason, that is the measure of political order. Laks’s reading opens a complex analysis of the relationships between rulers and citizens; their roles in a political system; the power of reason and persuasion, as opposed to force, in commanding obedience; and the place of freedom. Plato's Second Republic presents a sophisticated reevaluation of a philosophical work that has exerted an enormous if often hidden influence even into the present day.

Glaucon's Fate

Glaucon's Fate PDF

Author: Jacob Howland

Publisher:

Published: 2018-11-06

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 9781589881341

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Centering on the question whether conversation can shape the soul, Glaucon's Fate is a powerful new interpretation of Plato's Republic.

Aristotle on the Nature of Community

Aristotle on the Nature of Community PDF

Author: Adriel M. Trott

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1107036259

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Adriel M. Trott reads Aristotle's Politics through the internal cause definition of nature to develop an active and inclusive account of politics.

J.D. Ponce on Plato: An Academic Analysis of The Republic

J.D. Ponce on Plato: An Academic Analysis of The Republic PDF

Author: J.D. Ponce

Publisher: J.D. Ponce

Published: 2024-03-03

Total Pages: 157

ISBN-13:

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This exciting essay focuses on the explanation and analysis of Plato's The Republic, one the most influential works in history and whose understanding, due to its complexity and depth, escapes comprehension on a first reading. Whether you have already read The Republic or not, this essay will allow you to immerse yourself in each and every one of its meanings, opening a window to Plato's philosophical thought and his true intention when he created this immortal work.