{"product_id":"ruling-bodies-a-study-of-coercion-and-punishment-in-platos-republic-laws-and-gorgias-hardcover","title":"Ruling Bodies: A Study of Coercion and Punishment in Plato's Republic, Laws, and Gorgias - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRobin Varma\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book is about an epochal shift in ideas that changed the nature and meaning of coercion in modern political thought. It begins with a review of Foucault, Arendt, and Habermas, and points out a discrepancy in the way each thinker understood coercion in modern politics. From here, Varma examines Plato's Republic, Laws, and Gorgias to provide a framework and context for thinking about this. As the author shows, each work demonstrates a particular style of Platonic statecraft that corresponds to the amount of power the philosopher holds in a city. The Republic demonstrates the philosopher's rule as a monarch; the Laws demonstrates his rule when he must share power with a few spirited statesmen; and the Gorgias demonstrates his rule in a democracy where power belongs to the people. Ultimately, Varma argues that the philosopher used coercion as a supplementary tool to help harmonize man's soul with the heavens. When Hobbes recast the cosmos as matter in motion, however, power became the highest ordering principle for political life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRobin Varma is communications officer at Health Canada. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Carleton University.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 172\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.56 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 28, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47472231219378,"sku":"9781666907292","price":198.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/fa9392676fdd38765edfd3178e1c35a6.webp?v=1779104656","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/ruling-bodies-a-study-of-coercion-and-punishment-in-platos-republic-laws-and-gorgias-hardcover","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}