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 • $45.00 • (£35.00)
Scott John Hammond is professor of political theory at James Madison University.
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
This book is a. . . thoughtful study of Plato on political life as presented in "The Republic," "The Laws," and "The Statesman," and as discussed in much contemporary secondary literature. The author has three major themes: the Platonic teaching on the eternal essence of politics is as relevant today as in Plato’s time; the teaching of "The Republic" on the best city is fully compatible and consistent with the teaching on the second best city of "The Laws"; some of the ideas of "The Republic" and especially "The Laws" contain democratic features (versus the views of Gregory Vlastos, among others). . . Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and graduate students.
— CHOICE
“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