Plato On Democracy And Political Techn

In Plato on Democracy and Political technē Anders Dahl Sørensen offers an in-depth investigation of Plato’s discussions of democracy’s ‘epistemic potential’, arguing that this question is far more central to his political thought than is usually assumed.

This book deploys an innovative narrative device to mount an exercise in (popular) political philosophy. It presents Plato as “the Reith Lecturer” bringing up to date his critique of democracy which he began more than two thousand years ago in The Republic. Three recent “unexpected” electoral outcomes (the Brexit Referendum in the UK, the Presidential Election in the USA in 2016, and the UK General Election in 2017) allow it to focus on populism and the role it plays in understanding the logic of democracy. The book relentlessly exposes its fundamental flaw as demagoguery, relying not on high abstract philosophical/political theorising but entirely on empirical data to back up his critique. Ironically, it shows that Orwell’s Newspeak is its tongue.

First published in 1981 this unique study discusses the evolution of Plato's thought through the actual developments in Athenian democracy, the book also demonstrates Plato's continuing responses to changes in political theory and argues for a new understanding of Plato's goals for the state and his ultimate concern for the moral well-being of the citizens.

This well-integrated group of thirteen papers addresses the intriguing and perplexing issue of whether modern government can handle the problem of technology.

In this first comprehensive treatment of Plato’s political thought in a long time, John Wallach offers a "critical historicist" interpretation of Plato. Wallach shows how Plato’s theory, while a radical critique of the conventional ethical and political practice of his own era, can be seen as having the potential for contributing to democratic discourse about ethics and politics today. The author argues that Plato articulates and "solves" his Socratic Problem in his various dialogues in different but potentially complementary ways. The book effectively extracts Plato from the straightjacket of Platonism and from the interpretive perspectives of the past fifty years—principally those of Karl Popper, Leo Strauss, Hannah Arendt, M. I. Finley, Jacques Derrida, and Gregory Vlastos. The author’s distinctive approach for understanding Plato—and, he argues, for the history of political theory in general—can inform contemporary theorizing about democracy, opening pathways for criticizing democracy on behalf of virtue, justice, and democracy itself.

Focusing on the speeches and actions of the Platonic Socrates, this book argues that Plato's political philosophy is a crucial source for reflection on the hazards and possibilities of democratic politics.

Scientific Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the Ancient World, grade: A, American University of Central Asia, course: FYS, language: English, abstract: This essay seeks to address the above questions. First it explains Plato’s concept of democracy, which shapes his attitude towards this form of government. Then it discusses my position towards Plato’s criticism of democracy, provides a definition of contemporary democracy, and finally shows how Plato’s argumentation can be applied to present day democracies.

Revising his 1996 doctoral dissertation for the University of Warwick, though not departing radically from his original contention, Samaras argues that Plato's political thinking develops along a continuous line. He shows how some fundamental principles inform his thinking from beginning to end, and no abrupt breaks occur from one dialogue to the next or within any dialogue, but that the continuity does not mean his political though remains essentially unchanged. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR