Beautiful City

David Roochnik

ISBN 10: 0801474531 / ISBN 13: 9780801474538

Published by PLYMBRIDGE DISTRIBUTORS LTD Jul 2008, 2008

About this Item

Neuware - David Roochnik is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Boston University. He is the author of The Tragedy of Reason: Towards a Platonic Conception of Logos and Of Art and Wisdom: Plato's Understanding of Techne.

Seller Inventory # 9780801474538

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Beautiful City
• Publisher: PLYMBRIDGE DISTRIBUTORS LTD Jul 2008
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801474531
• ISBN 13: 9780801474538
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Edition: 2nd Edition
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 229W x 152H x 13D millimeters 229 millimeters width by 152 millimeters height by 13 millimeters depth
• Weight: 314 grams

About this title

Synopsis

In this slim but elegantly written volume, Roochnik (philosophy, Boston Univ.) treats Plato's 'Republic' as a dialogue, which is to say that he is attentive to the fact that 'The Republic' develops and builds as a conversation might, with progressive revisions, qualifications, and attention to the method of the dialectic itself.... Roochnik's approach is persuasive and highly recommended to scholars of the classical world. Summing Up: Highly recommended. ― Choice

Beautiful City is certain to be controversial, as the author's insights and opinions will engage and challenge philosophers, classicists, and political theorists.

To the vast literature on Plato's Republic comes a new interpretation. In Beautiful City, David Roochnik argues convincingly that Plato's masterpiece is misunderstood by modern readers. The work must, he explains, be read dialectically, its parts understood as forming a unified whole. Approached in this way, the text no longer appears to defend an authoritarian and monolithic political system, but rather supplies a qualified defense of democracy and the values of diversity.

Writing in clear and straightforward prose, Roochnik demonstrates how Plato's treatment of the city and the soul evolves throughout the dialogue and can be appreciated only by considering the Republic in its entirety. He shows that the views expressed in the early parts of the text do not represent Plato's final judgment on these subjects but are in fact dialectical "moments" intended to be both partial and provisional. Books 5-7 of the Republic are, he maintains, meant to revise and improve upon books 2-4. Similarly, he sees the usually neglected books 8-10 as advancing beyond the thoughts presented in the previous books. Paying particular attention to these later books, Roochnik details, for instance, how the stories of the "mistaken" regimes, which are often seen as unimportant, are actually crucial in Plato's account of the soul.

About the Author

David Roochnik is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Boston University. He is the author of The Tragedy of Reason: Towards a Platonic Conception of Logos and Of Art and Wisdom: Plato's Understanding of Techne.