Politics, Money, and Persuasion: Democracy and Opinion in Plato's Republic (Studies in Continental Thought)

"In Politics, Money, and Persuasion, distinguished philosopher John Russon offers a new framework for interpreting Plato's The Republic. For Russon, Plato's work is about the distinctive nature of what it is to be a human being and, correspondingly, what is distinctive about the nature of human society. Russon focuses on the realities of our everyday experience to come to profoundly insightful assessments of our human realities: the nature of the city, the nature of knowledge, and the nature of human psychology. Russon's argument concentrates on the ambivalence of logos, which includes reflections on politics and philosophy and their place in human life, how humans have shaped the environment, our interactions with money, the economy, and taking account, and the pursuit of the good in social and political systems. Politics, Money, and Persuasion offers a deeply personal but also practical kind of philosophical reading of Plato's classic text. It emphasizes the tight connection between the life of city and the life of the soul, demonstrating both the crucial role that human cognitive excellence and psychological health play in political and social life"-- Provided by publisher In __Politics, Money, and Persuasion__, distinguished philosopher John Russon offers a new framework for interpreting Plato's __The Republic__. For Russon, Plato's work is about the distinctive nature of what it is to be a human being and, correspondingly, what is distinctive about the nature of human society. Russon focuses on the realities of our everyday experience to come to profoundly insightful assessments of our human realities: the nature of the city, the nature of knowledge, and the nature of human psychology. __Politics, Money, and Persuasion__ offers a deeply personal but also practical kind of philosophical reading of Plato's classic text. It emphasizes the tight connection between the life of city and the life of the soul, demonstrating both the crucial role that human cognitive excellence and psychological health play in political and social life. Cover 1 Tilte Page 4 Copyright 5 Table of Contents 11 Acknowledgments 12 Note on Translations and Citations 14 Introduction 18 I. The Nature of Platonic Writing 20 II. The Method of This Work 28 III. The Argument 31 A. Politics, Money, and Persuasion 40 1 The Problem of Abstraction 42 I. The Polis and the Problem of the Guardians 44 II. Expertise and Writing 54 III. Money 61 IV. Technē, Money, and the Commercial Polis 68 2 The Currencies of Power 79 I. Timocracy 80 II. Oligarchy 87 III. Democracy 96 B. The Vicissitudes of Opinion 110 3 True Opinion 112 I. Socrates and the New Intellectuals 113 II. Knowledge and the “Divided Line” 120 III. Sophistry 151 4 Persuasion 162 I. Persuasion 164 II. Virtue 173 III. Corruption 185 Conclusion 206 Bibliography 210 Index of Subjects 220 Index of Passages 224