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Liberation and Authority

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

Nicholas Thorne

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.

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  • TOC
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Lexington Books
Pages: 296 • Trim: 6½ x 9
978-1-7936-3904-2 • Hardback • May 2021 • $122.00 • (£94.00)
978-1-7936-3906-6 • Paperback • April 2023 • $39.99 • (£30.00)
Subjects: Philosophy / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, History / Ancient / Greece

Nicholas Thorne received his PhD in classics and ancient philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh.

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

"Combining careful scholarship with brilliant commentary, this book does far more than show us how Thucydides and Plato understood their cultural crisis. Using them as a distant mirror, it gives us glimpses of solutions to our own."


— Patrick Lee Miller, Duquesne University


Liberation and Authority

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

Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
Summary
Summary
  • 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.

Details
Details
  • Lexington Books
    Pages: 296 • Trim: 6½ x 9
    978-1-7936-3904-2 • Hardback • May 2021 • $122.00 • (£94.00)
    978-1-7936-3906-6 • Paperback • April 2023 • $39.99 • (£30.00)
    Subjects: Philosophy / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, History / Ancient / Greece
Author
Author
  • Nicholas Thorne received his PhD in classics and ancient philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh.

Table of Contents
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

Reviews
Reviews
  • "Combining careful scholarship with brilliant commentary, this book does far more than show us how Thucydides and Plato understood their cultural crisis. Using them as a distant mirror, it gives us glimpses of solutions to our own."


    — Patrick Lee Miller, Duquesne University


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