Cooperative Flourishing in Plato's 'Republic': A Theory of Justice

Carolina Araújo's interpretation of Platos Republic emphasizes cooperation, flourishing, and justice relevant to contemporary life, challenging traditional interpretations and presenting a hopeful possibility for a "beautiful city" through public education and the contribution of philosophers to political life.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 29 December 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

In this groundbreaking interpretation of Plato's foundational text of political philosophy, Carolina Araújo unveils how the Republic remains ripe for an interpretation grounded in notions of cooperation, flourishing, and justice relevant to the diversity of contemporary life. Plato's treatise, Politeia, which Araújo translates as "the way of life of the citizens," not "the State" or "the form of government" as it more traditionally rendered, depicts the rich array of patterns emerging from human interaction and enquires into the best amongst them.

Cooperative Flourishing in Plato's Republic returns to these important questions about society: how to live with a vast diversity of personalities, with different interests and abilities, all of them trying to flourish, and asks how best can we share our environment? With rigorous philosophical analysis of the Greek text, accompanied by original translations of the most important passages, Araújo upends mainstream scholarship to progress Socrates' "bottom-up" view of politics and rejects previous readings of the Republic as a proto-totalitarian text, psychological study, or lengthy analogy. By defending a theory of Platonic justice that is rooted in cooperative flourishing, the public education of all citizens, and the contribution of philosophers to political life, "the beautiful city," which Plato called Kallipolis, emerges as a hopeful possibility.

Araújo's interpretation offers a fresh perspective on the Republic, challenging traditional interpretations and providing a valuable contribution to contemporary political discourse. By emphasizing the importance of cooperation, flourishing, and justice, she offers a vision for a more inclusive and equitable society that can navigate the challenges of our modern world. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Plato's philosophy, political theory, and the search for a more just and harmonious society.

Weight: 638g
Dimension: 149 x 252 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350257030