Plato's Fable

Joshua Mitchellis Professor of Government at Georgetown University, where he teaches the history of political thought.

"Plato's Fable is ... a well researched and eloquently expressed work of scholarship, and as such would be a valuable tool for any student of ancient philosophy in particular along with moral, metaphysical and political philosophy in general."--Kenneth Royce Moore, The Philosophical Quarterly

• Preface ix A Note on the Translation xv Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Imitation in Mortal Life 1 The Disappointments of Reason 3 Hegel and the Origins of "Identity Politics" 5 Rousseau's Gentler Form of Imitation 7 Beyond the Reformation Categories of "Identity Politics" and Socialization 11 Reason Revisited: Plato's Critique of "Rationality" 12 Honor's Place 14 (Divine) Reason 16 The Mortal Condition in Shadowy Times 18 Chapter 2: PLATO'S FABLE 21 Rendering Each Its Due 22 The Origin of the City 27 Fables, Lies, and Medicine 34 Fool's Gold 47 Noble Education--and Beyond 51 From the City to the Soul 56 The Philosopher 59 The Hunt for the Good 68 The Decline toward Tyranny 75 Timocracy 79 Oligarchy 82 Democracy 89 Tyranny 99 The Prisoner's Dilemma 111 Envy 113 Sadomasochism 114 Rights and the Relativity of All Things 115 Averting Ruptures 119 The Pathos of Measurement, and Power 122 Trivia 126 Medical Crises, Legal Gridlock 133 Ethics as First Science 137 Beyond Debt 139 The Misplaced Search for Origins 146 The Opinings of the Divided Soul 152 The Inaction of the Divided Soul 156 Chapter 3: CONCLUSION 167 The Fable of Liberalism 167 The Tocquevillean Wager: Mimesis and the Mediational Site of Renewal 175 The Socratic Wager: Mimesis and the Philosophical Practice of Death 189 Bibliography 195 Index 203