eBook - PDF
Ruling Bodies
A Study of Coercion and Punishment in Plato's Republic, Laws, and Gorgias
- 173 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF
About this book
This book is about an epochal shift in ideas that changed the nature and meaning of coercion in modern political thought. It begins with a review of Foucault, Arendt, and Habermas, and points out a discrepancy in the way each thinker understood coercion in modern politics. From here, Varma examines Plato's Republic, Laws, and Gorgias to provide a framework and context for thinking about this. As the author shows, each work demonstrates a particular style of Platonic statecraft that corresponds to the amount of power the philosopher holds in a city. The Republic demonstrates the philosopher's rule as a monarch; the Laws demonstrates his rule when he must share power with a few spirited statesmen; and the Gorgias demonstrates his rule in a democracy where power belongs to the people. Ultimately, Varma argues that the philosopher used coercion as a supplementary tool to help harmonize man's soul with the heavens. When Hobbes recast the cosmos as matter in motion, however, power became the highest ordering principle for political life.
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Yes, you can access Ruling Bodies by Robin Varma in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Politics & International Relations & Political Philosophy. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.