Liberation and Authority

Plato's Gorgias, the First Book of the Republic, and Thucydides

Liberation and Authority cover

Liberation and Authority

Plato's Gorgias, the First Book of the Republic, and Thucydides

Quantity
In stock
$171.00 RRP $190.00 Website price saving $19.00 (10%)

This product is usually dispatched within 2-4 weeks

Description

Liberation and Authority: Plato's Gorgias, the First Book of the Republic, and Thucydides provides a comparative treatment of Plato’s Gorgias, the first book of the Republic, and Thucydides’ History, arguing that they share similarities not only in the oft-noted “natural justice” of Callicles, Thrasymachus, and the Melian Dialogue, but also in a development that runs through the whole of each work. Nicholas Thorne argues that all three works give an account of the collapse of the authority of an older ethical order, out of which a subjective spirit arises that strives to liberate itself from all limits on its own activity. The readings of Plato give a new account of each work that shows how the logic of the arguments is inextricably bound together with the literary detail, including each work’s structure. The account of Thucydides argues for certain new interpretive concepts, such as the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, while also providing a new look at a number of familiar theses, such as the three-step structure running through the whole. Taken together, these works provide complementary reflections on a development profoundly relevant to our own time.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Thucydides: Introduction
(1) Periclean Athens
(2) Post-Periclean Athens
(3) Alcibiadean Athens
Thucydides: Conclusion
Plato – A Holistic Approach to the Gorgias and Republic I
The Gorgias: Introduction
Shame and the Ad Hominem Arguments
(1) Gorgias
(2) Polus
(3) Callicles
How Callicles is Good: Platonic Doctrine in the Gorgias
Socrates in the Gorgias
Republic I
(1) Cephalus
(2) Polemarchus
(3) Thrasymachus
Republic I: Conclusion
The Gorgias and the First Book of the Republic: Connections and Comparison
Conclusion
Works Cited

Product details

Published 11 May 2021
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 292
ISBN 9781793639042
Imprint Lexington Books
Dimensions 228 x 164 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

ONLINE RESOURCES

Bloomsbury Collections

This book is available on Bloomsbury Collections where your library has access.

Related Titles

Get 30% off in the May sale - for one week only

Environment: Staging