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The Laws is Plato's last, longest, and perhaps least-read work - but it is also his most detailed discussion of many political questions. But Magnesia, the city whose legislation the interlocutors sketch, is in many ways strikingly different from Kallipolis, the ideal city of the Republic. Magnesia's human heads of state are not philosopher-kings, but "servants of the Laws," who will treat the populace they rule with a respect unmentioned in the Republic or Statesman. Among other things, the laws in Magnesia will have prefaces which aim to persuade the populace to follow them. But the extent to which these novelties represent changes of mind for Plato is hotly debated, and taking part in the debate demands a thorough grasp on a work full of subtleties and challenges for readers of Plato. So in this seminar we will aim both to understand the Laws itself as well as its place in the Platonic corpus. Though discussion will be primarily in English, Beiträge auf Deutsch in Wort und Schrift sind sehr willkommen. No Greek is required, but basic familiarity with Plato's Republic will be presupposed. |
