Conventional wisdom suggests that the Platonist philosophers of Late
Antiquity, from Plotinus (third century) to the sixth-century schools
in Athens and Alexandria, neglected the political dimension of their
Platonic heritage in their concentration on an otherworldly life.
Dominic O'Meara presents a revelatory reappraisal of these thinkers,
arguing that their otherworldliness involved rather than excluded
political ideas, and he proposes for the first time a reconstruction
of their political philosophy, their conception of the function,
structure, and contents of political science, and its relation to
political virtue and to the divinization of soul and state. Among the
topics discussed by O'Meara are: philosopher-kings and queens;
political goals and levels of reform: law, constitutions, justice, and
penology; the political function of religion; and the limits of
political science and action. He also explores various reactions to
these political ideas in the works of Christian and Islamic writers,
in particular Eusebius, Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, and al-Farabi.
Filling a major gap in our understanding, Platonopolis will be of
substantial interest to scholars and students of ancient philosophy,
classicists, and historians of political thought.
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Platonic Political Philosophy in Late Antiquity
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780191531521
Publisert
2020
Utgiver
Oxford University Press Academic UK
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter