Plato's Invisible Cities: Discourse and Power in the Republic - Hardcover

Ophir, Adi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0389209309 ISBN 13: 9780389209300

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, 1991

Synopsis

Selected by CHOICE as an Outstanding Academic Book for 1992. This book provides a detailed analysis of one of the most influential philosophical works in the emergence of Western philosophy. Its originality lies in the author's discussion of the political significance of the Republic and of the relationship between philosophy and politics which it advocates. In eloquent, clear language it also examines the different spatial settings of the dialogueódrama, myth, utopia and discourseóand throws new light on the symmetrical structure of the text. The author discusses the Republic in terms of discursive events and political acts. Plato's act is placed in the context of a politico-discursive crisis in Athens at the end of the fifth and the beginning of the fourth century B.C. that gave rise to the dialogue's primary question, that of justice.

About this title

Review

Rich and powerful, with an original and thought-provoking thesis, this book gives weighty testimony to the incredible richness of its subject...Ophir's work needs to be read and reread by serious students of Plato's thought and by those interested in political theory in general...An essential addition to any library serving advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. -CHOICE--CHOICE

...Ophir develops a complex and erudite argument. His excursions into byways of Greek culture (the significance of corpses, the uses of invisibility) are fascinating. His anchoring of Plato's concerns within the crisis-riven fabric of the fifth century polis uses brilliantly such concepts as civic space and the gaze (what is seen by whom under what conditions). For readers wishing to reconsider Plato's utopia in the light of this interpretive model, Ophir's book will be a valuable guide.--Elizabeth Hanson, Stanford University, "CHOICE "

From the Back Cover

This book offers an original and detailed reading of Plato's Republic, one of the most influential philosophical works in the development of Western philosophy. The author discusses the Republic in terms of discursive events and political acts. Plato's act is placed in the context of a politico-discursive crisis in Athens at the end of the fifth and the beginning of the fourth century B.C. that gave rise to the dialogue's primary question, that of justice. The originality of Dr. Ophir lies in the way he reconstructs the Republic's different spatial settings--utopian, mythical, dramatic and discursive--using them as the main thread of his interpretation. Against the background of Plato's critique of the organization of civic-space in the Greek polis, the author relates the spatial settings in the Plato text to each other. This provides a basis for a re-examination of the relationship between philosophy and politics, which Plato's work advocates, and which it actually enacted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0389209309
• ISBN 13: 9780389209300
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 211