Plato: Statesman

What Defines the True Statesman?

In Statesman, Plato undertakes one of his most searching examinations of political knowledge, legitimate authority and the art of governing. Continuing the philosophical inquiry begun in the Sophist, the dialogue places the Stranger from Elea in conversation with the Younger Socrates as they attempt to distinguish the genuine statesman from the many figures who merely resemble him.

Through a method of careful division and classification, the speakers examine the nature of political expertise. Is the statesman a shepherd of human beings, a lawgiver, a judge or a ruler? What separates true political knowledge from rhetoric, military command, administration and the pursuit of power?

At the centre of the dialogue stands Plato's remarkable cosmological myth of the alternating ages of the universe: the age governed directly by the divine shepherd and the present age, in which human beings must care for themselves. The myth prepares the way for Plato's celebrated image of statesmanship as weaving—the art of bringing together different human characters and abilities into a stable and harmonious political community.

The dialogue also confronts the limitations of written laws, the distinction between lawful and unlawful constitutions and the difficult relationship between genuine knowledge and political authority. Monarchy, aristocracy, democracy and tyranny are assessed against the demanding standard of true statesmanship.

About This Edition

This EPHILO edition presents Plato's complete dialogue in carefully edited contemporary British English. It includes an extensive introduction, explanatory commentary, linked notes, Stephanus references and a fully navigable digital structure.

• Complete English text of Plato's Statesman
• Introduction, translation and commentary by Dr Ioannis S. Christodoulou
• Linked explanatory, historical and philosophical notes
• Stephanus references throughout the dialogue
• Contextual material on Plato and the philosophical significance of the work
• Professionally structured and validated EPUB3 edition
• British English throughout

An essential work for readers interested in Plato, political philosophy, leadership, law, political knowledge, classical thought and the enduring question of what constitutes legitimate government.

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