Plato's Fable
On the Mortal Condition in Shadowy Times
Published on 26. March 2006
Book
Hardback
224 pages
978-0-691-12438-4 (ISBN)
Description
This book is an exploration of Plato's Republic that bypasses arcane scholarly debates. Plato's Fable provides refreshing insight into what, in Plato's view, is the central problem of life: the mortal propensity to adopt defective ways of answering the question of how to live well. How, in light of these tendencies, can humankind be saved? Joshua Mitchell discusses the question in unprecedented depth by examining one of the great books of Western civilization. He draws us beyond the ancients/moderns debate, and beyond the notion that Plato's Republic is best understood as shedding light on the promise of discursive democracy. Instead, Mitchell argues, the question that ought to preoccupy us today is neither "reason" nor "discourse," but rather "imitation." To what extent is man first and foremost an "imitative" being? This, Mitchell asserts, is the subtext of the great political and foreign policy debates of our times. Plato's Fable is not simply a work of textual exegesis. It is an attempt to move debates within political theory beyond their current location.
Mitchell recovers insights about the depth of the problem of mortal imitation from Plato's magnificent work, and seeks to explicate the meaning of Plato's central claim--that "only philosophy can save us."
Mitchell recovers insights about the depth of the problem of mortal imitation from Plato's magnificent work, and seeks to explicate the meaning of Plato's central claim--that "only philosophy can save us."
Reviews / Votes
"Plato's Fable is ... a well researched and eloquently expressed work of scholarship, and as such would be a valuable tool for any student of ancient philosophy in particular along with moral, metaphysical and political philosophy in general."--Kenneth Royce Moore, The Philosophical QuarterlyMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-12438-4 (9780691124384)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2009
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
from
€148.95
Available for download
Person
Joshua Mitchellis Professor of Government at Georgetown University, where he teaches the history of political thought.
Content
Preface ix A Note on the Translation xv Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Imitation in Mortal Life 1 The Disappointments of Reason 3 Hegel and the Origins of "Identity Politics" 5 Rousseau's Gentler Form of Imitation 7 Beyond the Reformation Categories of "Identity Politics" and Socialization 11 Reason Revisited: Plato's Critique of "Rationality" 12 Honor's Place 14 (Divine) Reason 16 The Mortal Condition in Shadowy Times 18 Chapter 2: PLATO'S FABLE 21 Rendering Each Its Due 22 The Origin of the City 27 Fables, Lies, and Medicine 34 Fool's Gold 47 Noble Education--and Beyond 51 From the City to the Soul 56 The Philosopher 59 The Hunt for the Good 68 The Decline toward Tyranny 75 Timocracy 79 Oligarchy 82 Democracy 89 Tyranny 99 The Prisoner's Dilemma 111 Envy 113 Sadomasochism 114 Rights and the Relativity of All Things 115 Averting Ruptures 119 The Pathos of Measurement, and Power 122 Trivia 126 Medical Crises, Legal Gridlock 133 Ethics as First Science 137 Beyond Debt 139 The Misplaced Search for Origins 146 The Opinings of the Divided Soul 152 The Inaction of the Divided Soul 156 Chapter 3: CONCLUSION 167 The Fable of Liberalism 167 The Tocquevillean Wager: Mimesis and the Mediational Site of Renewal 175 The Socratic Wager: Mimesis and the Philosophical Practice of Death 189 Bibliography 195 Index 203