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German Political Thought and the Discourse of Platonism

Finding the Way Out of the Cave

  • Book
  • © 2019

Overview

Authors:
  1. Paul Bishop

    1. School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

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  • Presents an engaging and original exploration of German political thought in relation to Plato’s seminal allegory of the cave
  • Examines the relation between the individual and society, the primacy of the economic, our engagement with the material world, the notion of the contract, and the function of the state
  • Opens up arguments about Plato and his influence on Western political thought

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxiii
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  2. What Is Politics?

    • Paul Bishop
    Pages 1-24

  3. Plato and the Cave

    • Paul Bishop
    Pages 25-59

  4. Aristotle and the Empirical Approach

    • Paul Bishop
    Pages 61-92

  5. Rousseau and the Social Contract

    • Paul Bishop
    Pages 93-125

  6. Kant and the Categorical Imperative

    • Paul Bishop
    Pages 127-154

  7. Hegel and the Dialectic

    • Paul Bishop
    Pages 155-194

  8. Marx and Engels: The Revolution

    • Paul Bishop
    Pages 195-222

  9. Nietzsche and Heidegger: A Glance to the Right

    • Paul Bishop
    Pages 223-284

  10. The Frankfurt School—Adorno and Horkheimer

    • Paul Bishop
    Pages 285-314

  11. Habermas and Communicative Action

    • Paul Bishop
    Pages 315-327

  12. By Way of Conclusion

    • Paul Bishop
    Pages 329-362

  13. Back Matter

    Pages 363-408
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Keywords

About this book

Taking Plato’s allegory of the cave as its starting-point, this book demonstrates how later European thinkers can be read as a reaction and a response to key aspects of this allegory and its discourse of enchainment and liberation. Focusing on key thinkers in the tradition of European (and specifically German) political thought including Kant, Marx, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and the Frankfurt School, it relates them back to such foundational figures as Rousseau, Aristotle, and in particular Plato. All these thinkers are considered in relation to key passages from their major works, accompanied by an explanatory commentary which seeks to follow a conceptual and imagistic thread through the labyrinth of these complex, yet fascinating, texts. This book will appeal in particular to scholars of political theory, philosophy, and German language and culture.



Authors and Affiliations

  • School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

    Paul Bishop

About the author

Paul Bishop is William Jacks Chair of Modern Languages at University of Glasgow, UK. His previous publications include Carl Jung (2014), A Companion to Friedrich Nietzsche, Life and Works (2012), and Nietzsche and Antiquity: His Reaction and Response to the Classical Tradition (2004). 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: German Political Thought and the Discourse of Platonism

  • Book Subtitle: Finding the Way Out of the Cave

  • Authors: Paul Bishop

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04510-4

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-04509-8Published: 05 February 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-04510-4Published: 18 January 2019

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXIII, 408

  • Number of Illustrations: 9 b/w illustrations, 1 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Language and Literature, Political Theory, Political Philosophy, German, Intellectual Studies, German Idealism

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