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Tragedy, philosophy, and political education in Plato's laws / Ryan K. Balot.

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"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...

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Bibliographic Details
Online Access: Full Text (via ProQuest)
Main Author: Balot, Ryan K. (Ryan Krieger), 1969- (Author)
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2024]
Subjects:
Plato. > Laws.
Plato > Political and social views.
Political science > Philosophy.
Political science > Study and teaching.
Table of Contents:
  • 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
  • Demonstrative Preambles: The Use of Philosophical Dialectic
  • Conclusion: The Legislator's Judgment
  • 6. The "Second-​Best" Regime: Human Nature, Property, and Acquisitiveness
  • Purifying the Citizen Body
  • Magnesia and Callipolis
  • The Second Wave, Producers, and Private Property
  • Socrates on Curbing Acquisitiveness
  • Magnesia's Private Property Regime: The Ethics and Politics of Limiting Acquisitiveness
  • Retreat and Compromise-​or Surprising Innovation and Aspiration?
  • Evaluating the Athenian's Success
  • The Education Provided by the General Prelude
  • Pleasure in the General Prelude
  • The Golden Cord's "Helpers": Surveillance, Informing, and Punishment
  • Exemplary Punishment and Deterrence within a Religious Framework
  • Conclusion: Political Achievements and Their Limits
  • 7. Warriors into Citizens: The Re-​education of Thumos
  • A Brief Archaeology of Thumos: Books 1-​3
  • Upending the World of War: The "Playful" and the "Serious"
  • Militarizing Women, Pacifying Institutions
  • Warfare: A Permanent Condition, Humanized by the Athenian

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