Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-12T19:37:11.734Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

12 - Soul and state in Plato's Laws

from Part III - After the Republic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2012

Rachel Barney
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Tad Brennan
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Charles Brittain
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Get access

Summary

This chapter highlights how three distinct parts of the soul are to be found in the Laws: intellect, spirit, and appetite. The starting point for all reflection on Plato's Laws must be the recognition of its unusual position as far as the definition of politics is concerned. The Laws are much less explicit than the Republic on the subject of virtue. This chapter shows how a bipartition of the soul, far from excluding a tripartition, in a way implies it. It also shows how thumos may be considered a source of authority intermediary between intellect and appetite, and able to tend in both directions. One of the major differences between the Laws and the Republic consists in the fact that in the Laws, all the citizens, men and even women, must fight in the army, which is led and trained by specific magistracies.
Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×