Papers by Thomas L Pangle
Studi Sul Repubblicanesimo In Honore di Maurizio Viroli, 2023
What is Machiavelli's answer to the question, what is the best way of life for an individual? —Ab... more What is Machiavelli's answer to the question, what is the best way of life for an individual? —Above all, for an individual such as himself? What does virtù—excellence—mean in the life of Machiavelli himself, as a thinker? What becomes of intellectual or theoretical virtue, as the Socratics (esp. Xenophon) conceived that virtue; what becomes of philosophy as a distinct, trans-political way of life, as the best life?
A translation as close to literal as possible, consistent with readability.
The Roots of Political Philosophy: Ten Forgotten Socratic Dialogues, 1987
This book consists of literal English translations of ten Socratic dialogues that have been large... more This book consists of literal English translations of ten Socratic dialogues that have been largely neglected for the last century. Although everyone of these dialogues belongs to the classical canon of Platonic writings and was accepted as genuine in antiquity, most were condemned as forgeries in the early nineteenth century―and have remained under a shadow ever since. In his long introductory essay, Thomas L. Pangle offers a spirited criticism of arguments that have been adduced to support the view that some of the dialogues are counterfeit and shows in scrupulous detail why he believes in their authenticity.
Each dialogue is accompanied by an interpretive essay that demonstrates how a close reading of the dialogue sheds revealing light on the Platonic understanding of political theory, ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophic way of life as exemplified by Socrates. The essays include previously published pieces, some of classic stature, as well as studies written especially for this volume.
Opening an entirely new dimension of Platonic studies, The Roots of Political Philosophy addresses, in a fresh or unfamiliar perspective, major themes and puzzles such as: the nature of law, of property, and of acquisitiveness; the meaning of Socrates' famous "demonic voice"; what is at stake in the poetic claim to inspiration; and the psychology of the tyrannic as opposed to the statesmanlike or political personality.
Political scientists, philosophers, classicists, and students who are familiar with the textual approach associated with Leo Strauss will welcome this book, as will other readers with an interest in ancient Greek philosophy and political thought.
Contributors and translators: Allan Bloom, Christopher Bruell, Steven Forde, James Leake, Carnes Lord, James H. Nichols, Clifford Orwin, Thomas L. Pangle, Leo Strauss, and David Sweet.
Cambridge Companion to Montesquieu, 2023
This chapter clarifies the philosophic dimension of Montesquieu’s essay on Rome, which comes to s... more This chapter clarifies the philosophic dimension of Montesquieu’s essay on Rome, which comes to sight when, in chapter 18, Montesquieu makes explicit that he is presenting here a preeminent case study vindicating the contention that “it is not Fortune that dominates the World”; there are “general causes, some moral, some physical, which operate,” and “all the accidents are subject to these causes.” This foreshadows the claim with which Montesquieu opens his Spirit of the Laws : “I have posed the principles, and I have seen the particular cases unfold therefrom as if by themselves; the histories of all the nations are nothing but the consequences.” These statements signal the emergence of the modern philosophy of history, as a major component of Enlightenment rationalism’s most ambitious project and hope: to show that human reason can provide a system of universal causal explanation that will leave no room for plausible evidence of governance by supra- and contra-rational providential and legislative divinity. This project, especially as regards history, is profoundly opposed not only to revealed religion but to ancient political rationalism, as expressed in classic formulations in Plato’s Laws (709a-c) and Plutarch’s essay “On the Fortune of the Romans.”
The Canadian and American Constitutions in Comparative Perspective , 1993
A Tocquevillian Perspective on the difference in the constitutional status of religion in Canada ... more A Tocquevillian Perspective on the difference in the constitutional status of religion in Canada vs the US
What is the good life? What is human flourishing? Do these questions have answers? What human wis... more What is the good life? What is human flourishing? Do these questions have answers? What human wisdom, what life of wisdom, most adequately responds to these questions? Socrates and his students, from Plato and Xenophon through Aristotle and then the Stoics and Cicero, made the study of the life and soul of the exemplary, independent SAGE the supreme theme, and source of norms, for humanity's civic as well as moral existence. In medieval political philosophy, from Alfarabi on, the phenomena of the prophets, and of the saints, forced this classical normative cynosure to the background; and on the peaks of the modern enlightenment, from Machiavelli to Montesquieu, the life of the sage remained in eclipse-until Rousseau. He restored the classical centrality of the life and soul of the sagacious individual, as supremely normative. This restoration begins in Rousseau's opening work of political philosophy, the First Discourse, with its vivid portrait of the "sage" Socrates, and then its celebration of "those who feel within themselves the strength to walk alone, in their own tracks." In Rousseau's subsequent writings, the life of the sage takes on an ever more personal dimension, that becomes elaborated in The Confessions, and then in the Dialogues, and then, as a culmination, in The Reveries of the Solitary Walker. Rousseau presents himself as "the human being of nature, enlightened by reason" 1-and as such the standard, for modern humanity. In an unpublished mature fragment Rousseau wrote: I have penetrated the secret of governments, I have revealed it to the peoples-not so that they would shake off the yoke, which is not possible for them, but so that they would become again humans in their slavery, and that, enslaved to their masters, they would no longer be enslaved to their vices. If they can no longer be Citizens, they can still be sages. 2 Now it is my contention that fully to appreciate, and to come to terms with, the education that Rousseau offers in his autobiographical writings, we need constantly to confront Rousseau's teaching with the profound alternative teaching of that exemplary
Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy, 2022
Commentary on Hegel’s political philosophy has largely circumvented his philosophy of nature—whic... more Commentary on Hegel’s political philosophy has largely circumvented his philosophy of nature—which Hegel himself placed at the heart of his philosophic opus. The Nature-Philosophy (Die Naturphilosophie) is literally the central (and longest) of the three parts of Hegel’s most complete published expression of his philosophy as a whole—the Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences. I wish to suggest that greater attention to Hegel’s philosophy of nature, especially in its complementarity and contrast with the philosophy of nature elaborated by Hegel’s great teacher, Aristotle, will shed crucially needed light on Hegel’s understanding of human nature and humanity’s place in nature, not least as a political animal. Above all, I submit, such a comparative study is essential to our better understanding of Hegel’s—as well as Aristotle’s—conception of human individuality, of the individuality of the statesman and citizen, and of the supreme form of individuality in the consciousness which constitutes the highest norm for humanity’s civic existence. It is my impression that too much of the discussion of Hegel’s political philosophy has tended to eclipse the fact that for Hegel, even more than for Aristotle, the highest purpose of civic existence is the cultivation of the life of individual philosophers dedicated to study of the whole of being.
Given what I show to be Hegel’s contention—that the highest purpose of civic life is the generation, education, and fostering of the lives of the few who dedicate themselves to the study of cosmic nature, and who thus alone are the truly free, because maximally liberated from personal passion and self-interest—a major question becomes: to what extent does Hegel’s failure to establish the rational necessity of cosmic nature expose him to penetrating theological critique such as Ibn Khaldun addresses to the Aristotelian science of nature?
Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy , 2021
The first section of the last work whose publication Nietzsche himself supervised is often refere... more The first section of the last work whose publication Nietzsche himself supervised is often referenced, and a few of its individual items quoted and interpreted; but its overall intended plan, and thus its unfolding teaching, have not received adequate exegesis. I show that the ordered sequence which comes to light from such an exegesis provides a vividly illuminating foretaste of some of the most important dimensions of Nietzsche’s “transvaluation of all values,” viewed here from the more contemplatively playful, “philosophic,” perspective that Nietzsche assumed as he took a kind of holiday from the “serious” grandiosity of his Antichrist and Ecce Homo.
An online seminar discussion of this piece is available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hDHzceI4LY
INTERPRETATION: A Journal of Political Philosophy, 2020
Aristotle believes that wisdom and not merely philosophy is available. This seems to me to be the... more Aristotle believes that wisdom and not merely philosophy is available. This seems to me to be the difference between Plato and Aristotle…that Aristotle believes that biology, as a mediation between knowledge of the inanimate and knowledge of man is available.
Interpretation, 2019
Socrates’s founding of economic science has been largely unnoted, and the crucial
texts (of Xenop... more Socrates’s founding of economic science has been largely unnoted, and the crucial
texts (of Xenophon) have not been studied with the needed interpretative care and skill—even
though the Socratic conception of what it means to conduct a proper science of economics
confronts our contemporary conceptions of economic science with grave theoretical challenges.
Here is presented an exegesis of the short text in which the challenges come vividly
to sight. I aim to introduce both the substantive Socratic teaching of Xenophon and—by
example—the proper methodology for interpreting his texts in order to elucidate the teaching
intended by their author.
Die Zukunft der Demokratie: Kritik und Plädoyer, 2018
From The Public Interest Law Review 1991
From REORIENTATION: LEO STRAUSS IN THE 1930S, ed. Martin Yaffe and Richard Ruderman
From LEO STRAUSS: El filosofo en la cuidad, ed. Claudia Hilb
From Europees humanisme in fragmenten (Nexus 2008, ed. Rob Riemen)
From The Public Intellectual: Between Philosophy and Politics. Ed. Arthur Melzer, Jerry Weinberge... more From The Public Intellectual: Between Philosophy and Politics. Ed. Arthur Melzer, Jerry Weinberger, and Richard Zinman. (Rowman and Littlefield, 2003)
From Human Rights in Our Time: Essays in Memory of Victor Baras. Ed. Marc Plattner. (Westview, 1984)
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Papers by Thomas L Pangle
Each dialogue is accompanied by an interpretive essay that demonstrates how a close reading of the dialogue sheds revealing light on the Platonic understanding of political theory, ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophic way of life as exemplified by Socrates. The essays include previously published pieces, some of classic stature, as well as studies written especially for this volume.
Opening an entirely new dimension of Platonic studies, The Roots of Political Philosophy addresses, in a fresh or unfamiliar perspective, major themes and puzzles such as: the nature of law, of property, and of acquisitiveness; the meaning of Socrates' famous "demonic voice"; what is at stake in the poetic claim to inspiration; and the psychology of the tyrannic as opposed to the statesmanlike or political personality.
Political scientists, philosophers, classicists, and students who are familiar with the textual approach associated with Leo Strauss will welcome this book, as will other readers with an interest in ancient Greek philosophy and political thought.
Contributors and translators: Allan Bloom, Christopher Bruell, Steven Forde, James Leake, Carnes Lord, James H. Nichols, Clifford Orwin, Thomas L. Pangle, Leo Strauss, and David Sweet.
Given what I show to be Hegel’s contention—that the highest purpose of civic life is the generation, education, and fostering of the lives of the few who dedicate themselves to the study of cosmic nature, and who thus alone are the truly free, because maximally liberated from personal passion and self-interest—a major question becomes: to what extent does Hegel’s failure to establish the rational necessity of cosmic nature expose him to penetrating theological critique such as Ibn Khaldun addresses to the Aristotelian science of nature?
An online seminar discussion of this piece is available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hDHzceI4LY
texts (of Xenophon) have not been studied with the needed interpretative care and skill—even
though the Socratic conception of what it means to conduct a proper science of economics
confronts our contemporary conceptions of economic science with grave theoretical challenges.
Here is presented an exegesis of the short text in which the challenges come vividly
to sight. I aim to introduce both the substantive Socratic teaching of Xenophon and—by
example—the proper methodology for interpreting his texts in order to elucidate the teaching
intended by their author.
Each dialogue is accompanied by an interpretive essay that demonstrates how a close reading of the dialogue sheds revealing light on the Platonic understanding of political theory, ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophic way of life as exemplified by Socrates. The essays include previously published pieces, some of classic stature, as well as studies written especially for this volume.
Opening an entirely new dimension of Platonic studies, The Roots of Political Philosophy addresses, in a fresh or unfamiliar perspective, major themes and puzzles such as: the nature of law, of property, and of acquisitiveness; the meaning of Socrates' famous "demonic voice"; what is at stake in the poetic claim to inspiration; and the psychology of the tyrannic as opposed to the statesmanlike or political personality.
Political scientists, philosophers, classicists, and students who are familiar with the textual approach associated with Leo Strauss will welcome this book, as will other readers with an interest in ancient Greek philosophy and political thought.
Contributors and translators: Allan Bloom, Christopher Bruell, Steven Forde, James Leake, Carnes Lord, James H. Nichols, Clifford Orwin, Thomas L. Pangle, Leo Strauss, and David Sweet.
Given what I show to be Hegel’s contention—that the highest purpose of civic life is the generation, education, and fostering of the lives of the few who dedicate themselves to the study of cosmic nature, and who thus alone are the truly free, because maximally liberated from personal passion and self-interest—a major question becomes: to what extent does Hegel’s failure to establish the rational necessity of cosmic nature expose him to penetrating theological critique such as Ibn Khaldun addresses to the Aristotelian science of nature?
An online seminar discussion of this piece is available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hDHzceI4LY
texts (of Xenophon) have not been studied with the needed interpretative care and skill—even
though the Socratic conception of what it means to conduct a proper science of economics
confronts our contemporary conceptions of economic science with grave theoretical challenges.
Here is presented an exegesis of the short text in which the challenges come vividly
to sight. I aim to introduce both the substantive Socratic teaching of Xenophon and—by
example—the proper methodology for interpreting his texts in order to elucidate the teaching
intended by their author.
https://www.amazon.com/Political-Philosophy-Abraham-Thomas-Pangle-ebook/dp/B001QXDXH2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=A7Q923UWZ0IN&keywords=political+philosophy+and+the+god+of+abraham&qid=1685055168&sprefix=Political+Philosophy+and+the+God+of+Abraham%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-1
As these 12 surprising lectures show, many of those Founding Fathers - including Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry - were highly critical of the new Constitution and staunchly opposed it when it was first put forth for ratification by the states as a replacement for the Articles of Confederation.
The debate over the Constitution raged for the better part of two years, and beneath its rhetorical flourishes lay not only the longest and most profound civic argument in our nation's history, but also a civics lesson that deserves to endure for all time. It was an argument that would result not only in the ratification of the Constitution, but also in what that Constitution would become.
Professor Pangle takes you into this debate. You'll see which Founders opposed the new Constitution, which Founders led the battle for it, and how both sides helped define the result. In an era when contemporary arguments on the national stage so often mirror the same conflicts debated by the Founders, our own reenactment of that original debate can enrich our ability to be active and participating citizens.
https://www.amazon.com/Great-Debate-Advocates-Opponents-Constitution/dp/B00DTNY0G0/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2AJG78DVYT3L4&keywords=Pangle+the+great+debate&qid=1685049673&s=books&sprefix=pangle+the+great+debate%2Cstripbooks%2C105&sr=1-2
https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Modern-Republicanism-American-Philosophy/dp/0226645401/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2HV0Z2G05PT4A&keywords=Thomas+Pangle+Spirit+of+Modern&qid=1685034464&sprefix=thomas+pangle+spirit+of+modern%2Caps%2C110&sr=8-1
This book, written as a corrective, is the first accurate, non-polemical, comprehensive guide to Strauss's mature political philosophy and its intellectual influence. Thomas L. Pangle opens a pathway into Strauss's major works with one question: How does Strauss's philosophic thinking contribute to our democracy's civic renewal and to our culture's deepening, critical self-understanding?
This book includes a synoptic critical survey of writings from scholars who have extended Strauss's influence into the more practical, sub-philosophic fields of social and political science and commentary. Pangle shows how these analysts have in effect imported Straussian impulses into a "new" kind of political and social science.
https://www.amazon.com/Leo-Strauss-Introduction-Intellectual-Constitutional/dp/0801884403/ref=sr_1_12?crid=148YOIUQDYOG1&keywords=Thomas+Pangle&qid=1685033260&sprefix=thomas+pangle%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-12
https://www.amazon.com/Montesquieus-Philosophy-Liberalism-Commentary-Spirit/dp/0226645452/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1685037463&sr=1-15
“The three comic heroes in the plays included here raise the questions of whether there are gods, who they might be, how powerful they are, and how they might be changed or eliminated. Although the precise form of such questions changes from age to age, these are questions that are inseparable from political life; and they certainly are powerfully present in our own day…great theorists and architects of the modern liberal state designed its contours partly with an eye on the goal of diminishing the role of religion in the public square. Not unlike our three comic heroes, they wanted to reduce dependence on “Zeus” and his priests. In his place, and like our three heroes, they sought peace, wealth, and human rulers liberated from exaggerated piety. And nowadays the so-called New Atheists are pressing the case that it is high time for a final defeat and elimination of the powers of darkness that, in their view, have cost us so much blood and treasure…Aristophanes was not a modern liberal; still less would he agree with the New Atheists’ advocacy of universal public atheism. He does, however, put dissatisfaction with the gods at the center of the three plays included here, does bestow victories on the human critics of those gods, and does invite us to think with him about the justice of their causes, the tactics behind their victories, and the limits of their successes.”—From the Introduction
https://www.amazon.com/Birds-Peace-Wealth-Aristophanes-Critique/dp/1589880781/ref=sr_1_8?crid=148YOIUQDYOG1&keywords=Thomas+Pangle&qid=1685033260&sprefix=thomas+pangle%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-8
At the root of our current perplexity, beneath the difficulties with funding, social problems, and low test scores, festers a serious uncertainty as to what the focus and goals of education should be. We are increasingly haunted by the suspicion that our educational theories and institutions have lost sight of the need to perpetuate a core of moral and civic knowledge that is essential for any citizen's education, and indeed for any individual's happiness. Mining the Founders' rich reflections on education, the Pangles suggest, can help us recover a clearer sense of perspective and purpose.
With a commanding knowledge of the history of political philosophy, the authors illustrate how the Founders both drew upon and transformed the ideas of earlier philosophers of education such as Plato, Xenophon, Milton, Bacon, and Locke. They trace the emergence of a new American ideal of public education that puts civic instruction at its core to sustain a high quality of leadership and public discourse while producing resourceful, self-reliant members of a uniquely fluid society.
The Pangles also explore the wisdom and the weaknesses inherent in Jefferson's attempt to create a comprehensive system of schooling that would educate parents and children and offer unprecedented freedom of choice to university students. An original closing section examines the Founders' ideas for bringing all aspects of society to bear on education. It also shows how Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin presented their own lives as models for the education of others and analyzes the subtle, provocative moral philosophy implicit in the self-depiction of each.
The Learning of Liberty is historical and scholarly yet relentlessly practical, seeking from the Founders useful insights into the human soul and the character of good education. Even if the Founders do not provide us with ready-made solutions to many of our problems, the Pangles suggest, a study of their writings can give us a more realistic perspective, by teaching that our bewilderment is in some measure an outgrowth of unresolved tensions embedded in the Founders' own conceptions of republicanism, religion, education, and human nature.
"A marvelous work, full of learning and wisdom, certain to interest and enlighten its readers. The authors raise the current discussion of the problems facing American education to a level that towers above the usual topics. They ask what is education for and make a powerful case that in a democratic republic it must focus on civic and moral questions. Their sympathetic and critical account of the ideas and lives of such men as Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin is fascinating in itself and a superb way to illuminate the issues. "—Donald Kagan, author of The Fall of the Athenian Empire and coauthor of The Western Heritage.
https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Liberty-Educational-American-Founders/dp/0700607463/ref=sr_1_16?crid=148YOIUQDYOG1&keywords=Thomas+Pangle&qid=1685033260&sprefix=thomas+pangle%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-16
https://www.amazon.com/Key-Texts-Political-Philosophy-Introduction/dp/0521185009/ref=sr_1_2?crid=148YOIUQDYOG1&keywords=Thomas+Pangle&qid=1685033156&sprefix=thomas+pangle%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-2
https://www.amazon.com/renaissance-rationalisme-politique-classique-Conf%C3%A9rences/dp/2070730778/ref=sr_1_39?crid=148YOIUQDYOG1&keywords=Thomas+Pangle&qid=1685033260&sprefix=thomas+pangle%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-39&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc
https://www.amazon.com/Theological-Liberal-Modernity-Montesquieus-Spirit/dp/0226645495/ref=sr_1_14?crid=148YOIUQDYOG1&keywords=Thomas+Pangle&qid=1685033260&sprefix=thomas+pangle%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-14
To help us deal with this new reality, Thomas Pangle and Peter Ahrensdorf provide a critical introduction to the most important conceptions of international justice, spanning 2,500 years of intellectual history from Thucydides and Plato to Morgenthau and Waltz. Their study shows how older traditions of political philosophy remain relevant to current debates in international relations, and how political thinkers through the centuries can help us deepen our understanding of today's stalemate between realism and idealism.
Pangle and Ahrensdorf guide the reader through a sequence of theoretical frameworks for understanding the moral basis of international relations: the cosmopolitan vision of the classical philosophers, the "just war" teachings of medieval theologians, the revolutionary realism of Machiavelli, the Enlightenment idealism of Kant, and the neo-realism of twentieth-century theorists. They clarify the core of each philosopher's conceptions of international relations, examine the appeal of each position, and bring these alternatives into mutually illuminating juxtaposition.
The authors clearly show that appreciating the fundamental questions pursued by these philosophers can help us avoid dogmatism, abstraction, or oversimplification when considering the moral character of international relations. Justice Among Nations restores the study of the great works of political theory to its natural place within the discipline of international relations as it retrieves the question of international justice as a major theme of political philosophy. It provides our moral compass with new points of orientation and invites serious readers to grapple with some of the most perplexing issues of our time.
https://www.amazon.com/Justice-Among-Nations-Moral-Basis/dp/0700612211/ref=sr_1_19?crid=148YOIUQDYOG1&keywords=Thomas+Pangle&qid=1685033260&sprefix=thomas+pangle%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-19
Focusing on Lyotard, Vattimo, and Rorty, The Ennobling of Democracy offers a searching critique of postmodernism and its implications for political life and thought. Pangle carefully examines the political dimensions of postmodernist teachings, including the rejection of the natural-rights doctrines of the Enlightenment, the discounting of public purposefulness, and the disenchantment with claims of civic virtue and reason. He argues that a serious challenge has been posed to postmodernism by the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe, which have directly experienced heroic political leadership, maintained a prominent place for religion, and preserved a belief in the virtues and duties of citizenship. They consequently make demands on Western thought that postmodernism has been unable to meet.
Drawing on the classical republican ideal, Pangle opens the door to a bold new synthesis in political philosophy. He argues that by reappropriating classical civic rationalism--and especially classical philosophy of education--a framework may be established to integrate the most significant findings of modern rationalism into a conception of humanity that encompasses, in an unprecedented way, the entire scope of the human condition.
https://www.amazon.com/Ennobling-Democracy-Challenge-Postmodern-Constitutional/dp/080184262X/ref=sr_1_17?crid=148YOIUQDYOG1&keywords=Thomas+Pangle&qid=1685033260&sprefix=thomas+pangle%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-17
https://www.amazon.com/Recovering-Reason-Essays-Thomas-Pangle/dp/0739146319/ref=sr_1_24?crid=148YOIUQDYOG1&keywords=Thomas+Pangle&qid=1685033260&sprefix=thomas+pangle%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-24&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc
https://www.amazon.com/Rebirth-Classical-Political-Rationalism-Introduction/dp/0226777154/ref=sr_1_20?crid=148YOIUQDYOG1&keywords=Thomas+Pangle&qid=1685033260&sprefix=thomas+pangle%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-20
https://www.amazon.com/Theban-Plays-Oedipus-Antigone-Editions/dp/0801478715/ref=sr_1_21?crid=148YOIUQDYOG1&keywords=Thomas+Pangle&qid=1685033260&sprefix=thomas+pangle%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-21
Each dialogue is accompanied by an interpretive essay that demonstrates how a close reading of the dialogue sheds revealing light on the Platonic understanding of political theory, ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophic way of life as exemplified by Socrates. The essays include previously published pieces, some of classic stature, as well as studies written especially for this volume.
Opening an entirely new dimension of Platonic studies, The Roots of Political Philosophy addresses, in a fresh or unfamiliar perspective, major themes and puzzles such as: the nature of law, of property, and of acquisitiveness; the meaning of Socrates' famous "demonic voice"; what is at stake in the poetic claim to inspiration; and the psychology of the tyrannic as opposed to the statesmanlike or political personality.
Political scientists, philosophers, classicists, and students who are familiar with the textual approach associated with Leo Strauss will welcome this book, as will other readers with an interest in ancient Greek philosophy and political thought.
Contributors and translators: Allan Bloom, Christopher Bruell, Steven Forde, James Leake, Carnes Lord, James H. Nichols, Clifford Orwin, Thomas L. Pangle, Leo Strauss, and David Sweet.
https://www.amazon.com/%E6%94%BF%E6%B2%BB%E5%93%B2%E5%AD%A6%E4%B9%8B%E6%A0%B9-%E8%A2%AB%E9%81%97%E5%BF%98%E7%9A%84%E5%8D%81%E7%AF%87%E8%8B%8F%E6%A0%BC%E6%8B%89%E5%BA%95%E5%AF%B9%E8%AF%9D-%E7%B2%BE-%E5%8F%A4%E5%85%B8%E5%AD%A6%E8%AF%91%E4%B8%9B-%E5%8C%BF%E5%90%8D/dp/7100168112/ref=sr_1_38?crid=148YOIUQDYOG1&keywords=Thomas+Pangle&qid=1685033260&sprefix=thomas+pangle%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-38
A podcast on this book: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/thepoliticaltheoryreview/episodes/2023-06-27T09_47_05-07_00
https://www.amazon.com/Socratic-Way-Life-Xenophons-Memorabilia/dp/022651689X
Xenophon's Economist exposes and focuses upon something scandalous about Socrates that one would never guess from reading the Memorabilia: well into his maturity, the philosopher by his own confession neither practiced nor understood "virtue" (aretē). Xenophon makes us witnesses to a dialogue where Socrates tells of the great day on which he underwent a radical transformation—when he became the moral and political citizen-philosopher famous to posterity, from having previously been a pre-Socratic thinker lost in the clouds, "reputed to engage in idle chatter and to measure the air," who by his own confession had no clue as to the meaning of the "noble/beautiful" (kalon), or as to what "gentlemen"—the "noble-and-good"—are and do.
Xenophon's Symposium lets us be "flies on the wall" at a private drinking party at which the character of Socrates, and of his not altogether harmonious circle, find expression through being portrayed as partaking in the playful posturing of conventional gentlemen in their cups. Gradual inebriation loosens the tongues of all present, including Socrates, making manifest the gulf—and how that gulf is tenuously bridged—between the erotic playfulness of conventionally respectable gentlemen (led by the famous, wealthy, and "upper-crust" Kallias) and the philosophically erotic playfulness of Socrates.
Xenophon's Apology of Socrates to the Jury gives us access to the inner deliberation by which Socrates arrived at his decision to give the astonishingly arrogant speech that he offered at his trial. Through an account of a crucial private conversation prior to the trial, in which Socrates reveals his plan for the conduct of his defense, and then through selections from Socrates's defiantly offensive courtroom oration, in which he provocatively proclaimed the excellences that made him superior to his fellowmen, Xenophon brings to light Socrates's distinctively philosophic self-esteem.
https://www.amazon.com/Political-Philosophy-Xenophons-Economist-Symposium/dp/022664247X
I have further developed my implicit critique of Prof. Bruell's understanding of Aristotle, now in relation to HEGEL, in my “Hegel’s Philosophy of Nature as Foundational for His Political Philosophy,” Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy 48 (2022): 323-46, responding to Bruell's "THESES BEARING ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF ARISTOTLE’S NATURAL SCIENCE: A Lecture prepared for delivery at the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation, Munich Germany, October 18, 2021."