Description
Book SynopsisThis book challenges the assumption that self-interest is the basis of our actions. It does so through examining two Platonic characters, Thrasymachus in Plato's Republic and Callicles in Plato's Gorgias, both of whom attack justice and champion thoroughgoing selfishness. The author argues that by following the subtleties of Plato's presentation, we see that both characters unwittingly display a kind of devotion to their selfish principles, and more broadly a combination of contempt for justice and unselfconscious attachment to it. They thereby offer surprising support for the proposition that human beings are not simply self-interested. Moreover, the author argues that the attachment to justice that Thrasymachus and Callicles display is in many respects akin to the attachment to justice that most people feel. The book also presents a distinctive approach to reading Platonic dialogues, taking questionable arguments offered by Socrates not as indicating his or Plato's views, nor as
Trade Review“Plato's Tough Guys and Their Attachment to Justice is an engrossing examination of the human concern for justice, the power of which is revealed by showing that it continues to move even those ‘tough guys’ who claim to have abandoned it. Hansen’s interpretation of Plato is careful and perceptive, but, most important, it serves to illuminate an enduring aspect of our humanity.” -- Devin Stauffer, University of Texas at Austin
"Plato's Tough Guys and Their Attachment to Justice is a lucid and penetrating study of the strange power of justice to inspire those who want to deny it. And Peter Hansen makes his point—where better than in Plato?” -- Harvey Mansfield, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
“Peter Hansen’s remarkable book demonstrates how much we can still learn about ourselves by reading Plato well. Plato’s Tough Guys suggests that we are more complicated beings than our own theories usually acknowledge: we are more attached to the idea of justice than we realize, and more unsettled by this attachment than we care to admit.” -- Bryan Garsten, Yale University
Table of ContentsI. Reading Plato II. Thrasymachus’ Attack on Justice III. Socrates Refutes Thrasymachus IV. Callicles’ Attack on Justice V. Socrates Questions Callicles VI. Callicles Retreats VII. Socrates Concludes VIII. Other Tough Guys
