The Spartan Drama of Plato’s Laws (Political Theory for Today)

Friedland presents the Laws, Plato's longest dialogue, as a drama that must be interpreted with close and sustained attention to each of its three characters. He argues that Megillos, seen by most commentators as the most obtuse character in the dialogue, is in fact a man of few words but of surprising capacity for reflection. This capacity, and the crisis to which it brings him, is key to understanding the Laws' exploration of human nature, permanently drawn both to what is beyond and beneath it. The political project outlined in the dialogue, with its almost programmatic focus on the mundane, is a genuinely philosophical opportunity to consider the relationship between competing demands for human beings - between divine and animal nature, and also including the always tense but necessary antagonisms and affinities between politics and human sexuality. Contents 11 Acknowledgments 13 Note on Texts and Translations 15 Introduction 17 1 Megillos 29 2 The Great Man in the City: Kleinias of Knossos 57 3 What Is Political Philosophy? 79 4 Responsibility, Indignation, and the “Instinct of the Secondary Role” 99 5 Nature 125 6 Law 155 7 Concluding Remarks 189 Bibliography 197 A Note on the Index 205 Index 207 About the Author 211 The Spartan Drama of Plato's Laws is the first interpretation of the Laws to give sustained consideration to Megillos, the only character from Sparta that Plato created. Eli Friedland shows the profound importance of character to the Laws, and the rich drama of Plato's longest, and supposedly driest, work.