The City-State of the Soul : Constituting the Self in Plato's Republic

The City-State of the Soul: Self-Constitution in Plato’s Republic explores Plato’s idea that the moral life consists in the founding of one’s own soul. This insight is central to the long argument of the Republic and, in particular, to the complex relation between the city and the human soul. This fruitful picture of the moral life, however, has not received the attention it deserves. As Kevin M. Crotty argues, Plato’s distinctive insight is that justice is above all a creative force. Plato presents justice not as a relation amongst fully formed individuals, but rather as the quality that galvanizes a diverse welter of disparate parts into a coherent entity (above all, a soul or a city). Justice, then, is the virtue most closely associated with being—the source of its philosophical stature. Plato presents a conception of justice meant to impress the young, bright and ambitious as a noble pursuit, and a task worthy of their best talents. The City-State of the Soul is written for anyone interested in the Republic, including but not limited to students and scholars of ancient philosophy, political philosophy, ethics, and ancient Greek literature. The City-State of the Soul: Self-Constitution in Plato's "Republic" explores Plato's idea that the moral life consists in the "founding" of one's own soul. This insight climaxes the long argument of the Republic, and, in particular, its exploration of the complex relation between the city and the human soul. This fruitful picture of the moral life, however, has not received the attention it deserves. Plato shows that the imperative to unify one's own soul not only lies at the heart of traditional moral prescriptions (e.g., against lying or stealing), but also makes possible a better and more compelling view of the moral life as a whole, and of justice in particular. Plato's distinctive insight is that justice is above all a creative force. Rather than a relation amongst fully formed individuals, Plato presents justice as the quality by virtue of which a coherent entity (above all, a soul or a city) emerges from a diverse welter of different parts. Justice, then, is the virtue most closely associated with being--the source of its philosophical stature. Plato's project in the Republic is to present a conception of justice such that it will strike the young, bright and ambitious as a noble pursuit, and a task worthy of their best talents. -- Amazon.com Why is Thrasymachus so angry? -- Genealogies of justice -- Utopia and its founder -- Philosophy and the founder's perspective -- Why the philosophers will govern -- Introduction to part two -- The soul and its parts (I) -- The soul and its parts (II) -- Justice and action -- Freedom