The Blackwell Guide to Plato's Republic / Edition 1

by Gerasimos Santas

Overview

The Blackwell Guide to Plato’s Republic consists of thirteen new essays written by both established scholars and younger researchers with the specific aim of helping readers to understand Plato’s masterwork.

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• This guide to Plato’s Republic is designed to help readers understand this foundational work of the Western canon.
  
• Sheds new light on many central features and themes of the Republic.
  
• Covers the literary and philosophical style of the Republic; Plato’s theories of justice and knowledge; his educational theories; and his treatment of the divine.
  
• Will be of interest to readers who are new to the Republic, and those who already have some familiarity with the book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781405115636
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	01/23/2006
Series:	Blackwell Guides to Great Works
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Gerasimos Santas is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine. His previous publications include Socrates (1979), Plato and Freud: Two Theories of Love (Blackwell, 1988), and Goodness and Justice: Plato, Aristotle and the Moderns (Blackwell, 2001).

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors vii

Editor's Introduction 1

1 The Literary and Philosophical Style of the Republic 7
Christopher Rowe

2 Allegory and Myth in Plato's Republic 25
Jonathan Lear

3 Socrates' Refutation of Thrasymachus 44
Rachel Barney

4 Plato's Challenge: the Case against Justice in Republic II 63
Christopher Shields

5 The Gods and Piety of Plato's Republic 84
Mark L. McPherran

6 Plato on Learning to Love Beauty 104
Gabriel Richardson Lear

7 Methods of Reasoning about Justice in Plato's Republic 125
Gerasimos Santas

8 The Analysis of the Soul in Plato's Republic 146
Hendrik Lorenz

9 The Divided Soul and the Desire for Good in Plato's Republic 166
Mariana Anagnostopoulos

10 Plato and the Ship of State 189
David Keyt

11 Knowledge, Recollection, and the Forms in Republic VII 214
Michael T. Ferejohn

12 The Forms in the Republic 234
Terry Penner

13 Plato's Defense of Justice in the Republic 263
Rachel G. K. Singpurwalla

General Bibliography 283

Index 285

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A judicious mix of new voices and more familiar ones, Santas' Guide is a terrific resource for students and teachers of Plato's masterwork. It should command a wide readership and be in every library." C. D. C. Reeve, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This is a splendid collection of essays. The contributors are not content with rehashing old material but demonstrate how it is still possible to engage with the Republic in new and philosophically stimulating ways. It provides a first-rate guide both to the Republic itself and to some of the most exciting developments in its interpretation. R F Stalley, University of Glasgow

"This is a valuable collection. We should be grateful to Gerasimos Santas, and to each of the contributors to this volume, for the new light they have shed on Plato's masterpiece." Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Editorial Reviews

"A judicious mix of new voices and more familiar ones, Santas' Guide is a terrific resource for students and teachers of Plato's masterwork. It should command a wide readership and be in every library." C. D. C. Reeve, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This is a splendid collection of essays. The contributors are not content with rehashing old material but demonstrate how it is still possible to engage with the Republic in new and philosophically stimulating ways. It provides a first-rate guide both to the Republic itself and to some of the most exciting developments in its interpretation. R F Stalley, University of Glasgow

"This is a valuable collection. We should be grateful to Gerasimos Santas, and to each of the contributors to this volume, for the new light they have shed on Plato's masterpiece." Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

From the Publisher