Why Plato Wrote argues that Plato was not only the world’s first systematic political philosopher, but also the western world’s first think-tank activist and message man.
- Shows that Plato wrote to change Athenian society and thereby transform Athenian politics
- Offers accessible discussions of Plato’s philosophy of language and political theory
- Selected by Choice as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2011
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Prologue: Why Think about Plato? 1
Part I: Why Plato Wrote 9
Chapter 1: Who Was Plato? 11
Chapter 2: The Importance of Symbols in Human Life 24
Chapter 3: The Philosopher as Model-Maker 38
Chapter 4: The Philosopher as Shadow-Maker 55
Chapter 5: What Plato Wrote 70
Chapter 6: How Plato Lived 79
Part II: What Plato Did 87
Chapter 7: The Case for Influence 89
Chapter 8: Culture War Emergent 108
Chapter 9: Culture War Concluded 122
Epilogue: And to My Colleagues 143
Appendix 1: The Relationship between Paradigms and Forms 148
Appendix 2: A Second Tri-partite Division of the Soul? 154
Appendix 3: Miso- Compounds in Greek Literature 158
Notes 161
References 206
Further Reading 215
Index 219
“Packed with controversial theses, engagingly and intelligently written, iconoclastic – there’s not much wrong with this book as a work of ancient philosophy.”  (The Heythrop Journal, 4 Septemberl#
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