Plato's Fable: On The Mortal Condition In Shadowy Times

1st American Edition.as mew In Dustjacket. 226 pages. hardcover. 0691124388. keywords: Classical Studies Philosophy Plato. This book is an exploration of Platos Republic that bypasses arcane scholarly debates. Platos Fable provides refreshing insight into what, in Platos view, is the central problem of life: the mortal propensity to adopt defective ways of answering the question of how to live well. How, in light of these tendencies, can humankind be saved? Joshua Mitchell discusses the question in unprecedented depth by examining one of the great books of Western civilization. He draws us beyond the ancients/moderns debate, and beyond the notion that Platos Republic is best understood as shedding light on the promise of discursive democracy. Instead, Mitchell argues, the question that ought to preoccupy us today is neither reason nor discourse, but rather imitation. To what extent is man first and foremost an imitative being? This, Mitchell asserts, is the subtext of the great political and foreign policy debates of our times. Platos Fable is not simply a work of textual exegesis. It is an attempt to move debates within political theory beyond their current location. Mitchell recovers insights about the depth of the problem of mortal imitation from Platos magnificent work, and seeks to explicate the meaning of Platos central claimthat only philosophy can save us. Joshua Mitchellis Professor of Government at Georgetown University, where he teaches the history of political thought. .