PHI 505 Platonic Wisdom & the Origin of Political Philosophy
Through a close reading and analysis of Plato’s Republic and Laws we seek to lay the groundwork for subsequent discussions of Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Thomas, Social Contract thinkers, and postmodern interpretations of the human person. Most acutely, we address how politics involves a deeper accounting of the meaning of a practical science and whether the polis secures its identity by affirming or denying divine meaning within the individual and within society.