Laws Index To The Writings Of Plato

A new translation of Plato's Laws into accessible English, with essential introductory and other explanatory material.

"Laws" is one of the last dialogues written by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It is a lengthy and comprehensive exploration of the role that law and legislation play in the lives of individuals and communities. Unlike his other dialogues, Plato himself speaks in "Laws" instead of using characters like Socrates. The dialogue takes place between three characters: an Athenian stranger, a Spartan named Megillus, and a Cretan named Clinias, who discuss laws, politics, and the nature of justice while on a pilgrimage to the cave of Zeus in Crete. Throughout the dialogue, the Athenian stranger elaborates on the ideal laws that would govern a perfect city-state, touching on a wide range of topics including education, family, property, and the nature of the soul.

Long understudied, Plato's Laws has been the object of renewed attention in the past decade and is now considered to be his major work of political philosophy besides the Republic. In his last dialogue, Plato returns to the project of describing the foundation of a just city and sketches in considerable detail its constitution, laws and other social institutions. Written by leading Platonists, the essays in this volume cover a wide range of topics central for understanding the Laws, such as the aim of the Laws as a whole, the ethical psychology of the Laws, especially its views of pleasure and non-rational motivations, and whether and, if so, how the strict law code of the Laws can encourage genuine virtue. They make an important contribution to ongoing debates and will open up fresh lines of inquiry for further research.

In the Laws, Plato describes in fascinating detail a comprehensive system of legislation in a small agricultural utopia he named Magnesia. His laws not only govern crime and punishment, but also form a code of conduct for all aspects of life in his ideal state - from education, sport and religion to sexual behaviour, marriage and drinking parties. Plato sets out a plan for the day-to-day rule of Magnesia, administered by citizens and elected officials, with supreme power held by a Council. Although Plato's views that citizens should act in complete obedience to the law have been read as totalitarian, the Laws nonetheless constitutes a highly impressive programme for the reform of society and provides a crucial insight into the mind of one of Classical Greece's foremost thinkers.