Plato’s Beautiful City and the Essence of Politics

Scott John Hammond

This inquiry attempts to probe the essence of politics in-itself, something that has been singularly discerned by Plato in Republic, grounded in his theory of universal forms and gradually but fully developed through a consideration of the elements of the City in Speech. Those elements, and the ideal city itself as envisioned in Republic, are immanent within the Second Best City of the Laws, even though presented in a modified way. Plato's Statesman will also be discussed as a means to further illustrate Plato's commitment to the principles conveyed in Republic. This project rests on the premise that Plato's intelligible city is genuinely intended to convey Plato’s full understanding of the real essence of the polis, not simply the arena of political behavior and governance as we have come to know it, but the essence of what politics universally means and what a political community should objectively seek.

Lexington Books

Pages: 308 • Trim: 6¼ x 9

978-1-7936-0250-3 • Hardback • June 2020 • $115.00 • (£88.00)

978-1-7936-0251-0 • eBook • June 2020 • $109.00 • (£84.00)

Subjects: Political Science / History & Theory, Political Science / General

Plato’s Beautiful City and the Essence of Politics

Hardback

eBook

Summary

This inquiry attempts to probe the essence of politics in-itself, something that has been singularly discerned by Plato in Republic, grounded in his theory of universal forms and gradually but fully developed through a consideration of the elements of the City in Speech. Those elements, and the ideal city itself as envisioned in Republic, are immanent within the Second Best City of the Laws, even though presented in a modified way. Plato's Statesman will also be discussed as a means to further illustrate Plato's commitment to the principles conveyed in Republic. This project rests on the premise that Plato's intelligible city is genuinely intended to convey Plato’s full understanding of the real essence of the polis, not simply the arena of political behavior and governance as we have come to know it, but the essence of what politics universally means and what a political community should objectively seek.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 308 • Trim: 6¼ x 9

978-1-7936-0250-3 • Hardback • June 2020 • $115.00 • (£88.00)

978-1-7936-0251-0 • eBook • June 2020 • $109.00 • (£84.00)

Subjects: Political Science / History & Theory, Political Science / General

Author

Scott John Hammond is professor of political theory at James Madison University.

Table of Contents

Chapter One Drawing Further Meaning from Cephalus and Polemarchus

Chapter Two Making Thrasymachus Blush

Chapter Three Sons of Ariston

Chapter Four The True City

Chapter Five The True City Embodied in the Guardians

Chapter Six Rough Seas

Chapter Seven Building a Theory from an Account

Chapter Eight The Second Best City

Chapter Nine The Form of the Polis in the Second Best City: The Visible

Chapter Ten The Form of the Polis in the Second Best City: The Invisible

Reviews

“With the calm assurance of someone who has inhabited Plato's dialogues for years, Hammond invites his readers into the high stakes drama of The Republic. This book is an untimely meditation is at least two senses. By focusing on Plato's teaching on the ‘essence of politics,’ it is out of sync with contemporary resistance to essentialism, especially in politics. By emphasizing the way Plato points out the partiality of time-bound experience, it turns us to take seriously a ‘beautiful city’ that is eternal and unchanging. In this captivating and often provocative close-reading, Hammond captures the excitement and allure of the philosophical quest.”
— Douglas Casson, St. Olaf College

Plato’s Beautiful City and the Essence of Politics

Scott John Hammond

Plato’s Beautiful City and the Essence of Politics

ALSO AVAILABLE