Tracing a central theme of Plato's Republic, G. R. F. Ferrari reconsiders in this study the nature and purpose of the comparison between the structure of society and that of the individual soul. In four chapters, Ferrari examines the personalities and social status of the brothers Glaucon and Adeimantus, Plato's notion of justice, coherence in Plato's description of the decline of states, and the tyrant and the philosopher king - a pair who, in their different ways, break with the terms of the city-soul analogy. In addition to acknowledging familiar themes in the interpretation of the Republic - the sincerity of its utopianism, the justice of the philosopher's return to the Cave - Ferrari provocatively engages secondary literature by Leo Strauss, Bernard Williams, and Jonathan Lear. With admirable clarity and insight, Ferrari conveys the relation between the city and the soul and the choice between tyranny and philosophy. "City and Soul in Plato's Republic" will be of value to students of classics, philosophy, and political theory alike.

About the Author
G. R. F. Ferrari is professor of classics at the University of California, Berkeley; the author of Listening to Cicadas: A Study of Plato's Phaedrus; and the editor of the Cambridge Companion to Plato's Republic.

Reviews
"The good thing about this little book is that it is controversial. Ferrari is not afraid to stick his neck out, and he forces one to reexamine what one thinks oneself, if one disagrees with him." - John Dillon, Bryn Mawr Classical Review"



Book Information
ISBN 9780226244372
Author G. R. F. Ferrari
Format Paperback
Page Count 130
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 227g
Dimensions(mm) 22mm * 16mm * 1mm