Plato on the limits of human life / Sara Brill.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brill, Sara.

Series:

Studies in Continental thought

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Plato.

Soul.

Physical Description:

x, 260 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Bloomington, Indiana : Indiana University Press, [2013]

Summary:

By focusing on the immortal character of the soul in key Platonic dialogues, Sara Brill shows how Plato thought of the soul as remarkably flexible, complex, and indicative of the inner workings of political life and institutions. As she explores the character of the soul, Brill reveals the corrective function that law and myth serve. If the soul is limitless, she claims, then the city must serve a regulatory or prosthetic function and prop up good political institutions against the threat of the soul's excess. Brill's sensitivity to dramatic elements and discursive strategies in Plato's dialogues illuminates the intimate connection between city and soul. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Phaedo 15

1 Socratic Prothumia 19

2 The Body-like Soul 37

3 Psychic Geography 64

Part II Republic 83

4 City and Soul 93

5 Psychic Fragmentation 106

6 Philosophy in the City 123

7 Politics and Immortality 138

Part III Laws 165

8 Psychology for Legislators 171

9 Psychology for the Legislated 179

10 Psychic Excess 192.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780253008824

0253008824

9780253008879

0253008875

OCLC:

793571893