Ryan K. Balot is Professor of Political Science and Classics at the University of Toronto and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is the author of Greed and Injustice in Classical Athens and Courage in the Democratic Polis: Ideology and Critique in Classical Athens. He edited A Companion to Greek and Roman Political Thought and is co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides.

• Chapter 1: Introduction: Interpreting Plato's Laws Chapter 2: The Character of Kleinias Chapter 3: The Politics and Psychology of Human History Chapter 4: A New Beginning: Founding Magnesia Chapter 5: Persuasive Preambles Chapter 6: The "Second-Best" Regime: Human Nature, Property, and Acquisitiveness Chapter 7: Warriors into Citizens: The Re-education of Thumos Chapter 8: Developing the Citizens' Thumos in Elections and Courts Chapter 9: The Athenian's Theology, Part IChapter 10: The Athenian's Theology, Part II Chapter 11: The Rule of Nous Chapter 12: The "Truest Tragedy" in Plato's Laws

Original insights and important lessons about the limits of politics and philosophy abound in Ryan K. Balot's persuasive new reading of Plato's complex and challenging Laws. With keen attention to the nuances of the arguments and the dialogue's dramatic energy and a sensitivity to the rhetorical niceties necessitated by the Athenian Stranger's two audiences - especially the thumotic Kleinias and the sophisticated reader familiar with Plato's other writings- Balot practices the philanthropy he finds in the Athenian Stranger's efforts to educate his readers philosophically about politics.

Ryan K. Balot is Professor of Political Science and Classics at the University of Toronto and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is the author of Greed and Injustice in Classical Athens and Courage in the Democratic Polis: Ideology and Critique in Classical Athens. He edited A Companion to Greek and Roman Political Thought and is co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides.

• Chapter 1: Introduction: Interpreting Plato's Laws Chapter 2: The Character of Kleinias Chapter 3: The Politics and Psychology of Human History Chapter 4: A New Beginning: Founding Magnesia Chapter 5: Persuasive Preambles Chapter 6: The "Second-Best" Regime: Human Nature, Property, and Acquisitiveness Chapter 7: Warriors into Citizens: The Re-education of Thumos Chapter 8: Developing the Citizens' Thumos in Elections and Courts Chapter 9: The Athenian's Theology, Part IChapter 10: The Athenian's Theology, Part II Chapter 11: The Rule of Nous Chapter 12: The "Truest Tragedy" in Plato's Laws

Original insights and important lessons about the limits of politics and philosophy abound in Ryan K. Balot's persuasive new reading of Plato's complex and challenging Laws. With keen attention to the nuances of the arguments and the dialogue's dramatic energy and a sensitivity to the rhetorical niceties necessitated by the Athenian Stranger's two audiences - especially the thumotic Kleinias and the sophisticated reader familiar with Plato's other writings- Balot practices the philanthropy he finds in the Athenian Stranger's efforts to educate his readers philosophically about politics.

Ryan K. Balot is Professor of Political Science and Classics at the University of Toronto and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is the author of Greed and Injustice in Classical Athens and Courage in the Democratic Polis: Ideology and Critique in Classical Athens. He edited A Companion to Greek and Roman Political Thought and is co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides.

• Chapter 1: Introduction: Interpreting Plato's Laws Chapter 2: The Character of Kleinias Chapter 3: The Politics and Psychology of Human History Chapter 4: A New Beginning: Founding Magnesia Chapter 5: Persuasive Preambles Chapter 6: The "Second-Best" Regime: Human Nature, Property, and Acquisitiveness Chapter 7: Warriors into Citizens: The Re-education of Thumos Chapter 8: Developing the Citizens' Thumos in Elections and Courts Chapter 9: The Athenian's Theology, Part IChapter 10: The Athenian's Theology, Part II Chapter 11: The Rule of Nous Chapter 12: The "Truest Tragedy" in Plato's Laws

Original insights and important lessons about the limits of politics and philosophy abound in Ryan K. Balot's persuasive new reading of Plato's complex and challenging Laws. With keen attention to the nuances of the arguments and the dialogue's dramatic energy and a sensitivity to the rhetorical niceties necessitated by the Athenian Stranger's two audiences - especially the thumotic Kleinias and the sophisticated reader familiar with Plato's other writings- Balot practices the philanthropy he finds in the Athenian Stranger's efforts to educate his readers philosophically about politics.