Platonopolis: Platonic Political Philosophy in Late Antiquity

by Dominic J. O'Meara

Overview

"Conventional wisdom suggests that the Platonist philosophers of Late Antiquity, from Plotinus (third century) to the sixth-century schools in Athens and Alexandria, neglected the political dimension of their Platonic heritage in their concentration on an otherworldly life. Dominic O'Meara presents a revelatory reappraisal of these thinkers, arguing that their otherworldliness involved rather than excluded political ideas, and he reconstructs for the first time a coherent political philosophy of Late Platonism."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199285532
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date:	11/03/2005
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

University of Fribourg

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
1. The Two Functions of Political Philosophy
2. Neoplatonist Philosophers in Time, Place, and Social Context
NEOPLATONIC POLITICAL THEORY RECONSTRUCTED
I. THE DIVINIZATION OF SOUL
3. Divinization in Greek Philosophy
4. The Scale of Virtues
5. The Scale of Sciences
6. The Curriculum
II. THE DIVINIZATION OF STATE
7. Philosopher-Kings and Queens
8. Political Science: Legislative
9. Political Science: Judicial
10. The Political Function of Religion
11. The Limits of Political Action
PLATONOPOLIS IN CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM
12. Eusebius and Augustine
13. Ideals of Church and State in the Sixth Century
14. Platonopolis in Islam: Al-Farabi's Perfect State
Conclusion
Appendix I: Themistus and Neoplatonic Political Philosophy
Appendix II: Notes on a Platonist Rhetor: Sopatros 3
Bibliography
Index