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13Tragedy, philosophy, and political education in Plato's lawsOxford University Press. 2024.What are the prospects for ambitious political reform in communities of traditional, passionate, and even self-righteous citizens? Can thoughtful legislators create a healthy society for citizens whose judgment is typically unsound? In a searching and provocative analysis, Ryan Balot addresses these timely - though universal - political questions by offering a novel interpretation of Plato's Laws. Turning to the ancient past is essential to reinvigorating our contemporary understanding of these …Read more
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Transforming "manliness" into courage : two democratic perspectivesIn Geoffrey C. Kellow & Neven Leddy (eds.), On Civic Republicanism: Ancient Lessons for Global Politics, University of Toronto Press. 2016.
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24In Search of Humanity: Essays in Honor of Clifford Orwin (edited book)Lexington Books. 2015.This collection of essays, offered in honor of the distinguished career of prominent political philosophy professor Clifford Orwin, brings together internationally renowned scholars to provide a wide context and discuss various aspects of the virtue of “humanity” through the history of political philosophy
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18In Search of Humanity: Essays in Honor of Clifford Orwin (edited book)Lexington Books. 2015.This collection of essays, offered in honor of the distinguished career of prominent political philosophy professor Clifford Orwin, brings together internationally renowned scholars to provide a wide context and discuss various aspects of the virtue of “humanity” through the history of political philosophy
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FrontmatterIn Greek Political Thought, Blackwell. 2006.The prelims comprise: Half Title Title Copyright Contents Preface and Acknowledgments Abbreviations.
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6Aristotle's Political ThoughtIn Greek Political Thought, Blackwell. 2006.This chapter contains section titled: Civic Conflict, Emotion, and Injustice: Observing the Polis as It Is Exploring What Ought To Be: Aristotle's Naturalism Aristotle on the Good Life Nature in the Politics Aristotle on Slavery Polis and Citizenship in General Aristotle's Best Polis Political Possibilities in Existing Cities The Best Constitution in Relation to Existing Conditions Classification of Constitutions The Power of the Masses Conclusion.
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2Hellenistic Political ThoughtIn Greek Political Thought, Blackwell. 2006.This chapter contains section titled: Theory of Kingship The Traditional Schools New Directions: Cynics, Stoics, and Epicureans The Politics of Cynicism? Stoicism and Epicureanism.
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5ImperialismIn Greek Political Thought, Blackwell. 2006.This chapter contains section titled: Aristotle Analyzes Imperialism Definitions and History Monarchic Imperialism Natural Superiority? Debating Athenian Imperialism Final Thoughts.
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2Fourth‐Century RevisionsIn Greek Political Thought, Blackwell. 2006.This chapter contains section titled: The Ancestral Republican “Solutions” The Monarchic “Solution” Plato's “Solutions” Criticizing Contemporary Politics Plato on Rhetoric and Order in the Gorgias The Priority of Reason in City and Soul: Plato's Republic Educating Citizens in the Classical Context Politics and Ethics Philosophical Rulers Platonic Political Philosophy after the Republic.
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8Criticizing Democracy in Late Fifth‐Century AthensIn Greek Political Thought, Blackwell. 2006.This chapter contains section titled: Mapping out the Problem: The “Old Oligarch” Modern and Ancient Quandaries The Challenge of Thrasymachus and Callicles Thucydidean Imperialists Revisit Nomos and Phusis Socrates and Nomos Logos and Ergon Democratic Epistemology and Relativism Democratic Epistemology and Untrustworthy Rhetoric ‐ or, Where Does the Truth Lie? Socrates and Athens.
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7Democratic Political Thinking at AthensIn Greek Political Thought, Blackwell. 2006.This chapter contains section titled: Evidence and Sources Democracy Ancient and Modern Democratic Conceptions of Freedom Democratic Deliberation Courage, Trust, and Leadership Democratic Political Thought Outside Athens? Protagorean Arguments for Democracy Democratic Conceptions of Equality Justice and the Demos.
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7Archaic Greece and the Centrality of JusticeIn Greek Political Thought, Blackwell. 2006.This chapter contains section titled: Achilles, Agamemnon, and Fair Distribution Justice as “Distinctively Human” Institutions and Values of the Early Polis What is Justice? The Voice of the Oppressed and the Origins of Political Thought The Egalitarian Response The Elitist Response Case Study: Sparta and the Politics of “Courage” A Second Case Study: Archaic Athens and the Search for Justice.
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66Epideictic Rhetoric and the Foundations of PoliticsPolis 30 (2): 274-304. 2013.At least since the time of Plato’s writings, epideictic rhetoric has been criticized as deceptive, as epistemologically bankrupt, and as politically irrelevant. Aristotle himself emphasizes that the key ‘topic’of epideictic is amplification and stresses that the epideictic orator chiefly adds ‘size’ and ‘beauty’ to widely shared memories. This paper reinterprets Aristotle’s statements and argues that Aristotle’s account brings to light significant civic resources embodied in epideictic. A genuin…Read more
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25Greed, Outrage, and Civil Conflict in Aristotle’s PoliticsPolis 40 (2): 185-209. 2023.Scholars generally agree that, according to Aristotle, factionalizers are motivated by a sense of injustice (the ‘first cause’) to redress imbalances in wealth and honor (the ‘second cause’). Recent discussions, however, have offered a misleading interpretation of Aristotle’s third cause, which he identifies as the origin of the factionalizers’ sense of injustice. It involves, most importantly, greed, hubris, and other factors such as fear and ‘disproportionate growth’. In conversation with a re…Read more
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Political knowledge and human excellence in Aristotelian political scienceIn Kyriakos N. Dēmētriou & Antis Loizides (eds.), Scientific statesmanship, governance and the history of political philosophy, Routledge. 2015.
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32Polis and Cosmos in Plato’s LawsPolis 37 (3): 516-533. 2020.Recent scholarship has followed Glenn Morrow in seeking to understand Plato’s politics in light of his cosmology. This essay takes a different tack and interprets the theology and cosmology of the Laws as an outgrowth of the Athenian Stranger’s conversation with Kleinias, which focuses on politics and warfare. In that sense the arguments of Book 10 are closely tied to the context of the dialogue. The Athenian Stranger’s religious ideology is not designed to be permanent or universally applicable…Read more
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37Recollecting AthensPolis 33 (1): 92-129. 2016.Beginning with an analysis of the problematic relation of ‘the particular’ to ‘the universal’ in canonical political texts, this paper explores a variety of frameworks for the study of classical Greek political thought. Specifically, after investigating the influence of Quentin Skinner’s contextualism, the paper examines the ideas, approaches, and methods of Bernard Williams, Leo Strauss, and Josiah Ober. I draw attention to each figure’s distinctive motivations for returning to ancient Greece a…Read more
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35Bakewell, Sickinger Gestures. Essays in Ancient History, Literature, and Philosophy Presented to Alan L. Boegehold on the Occasion of his Retirement and his Seventy-fifth Birthday. Pp. xii + 363, ills. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2003. Cased, £45. ISBN: 1-84217-086-4 (review)The Classical Review 56 (1): 235-237. 2006.
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26In this careful and compelling study, Ryan K. Balot brings together political theory, classical history, and ancient philosophy in order to re-conceive of courage as a specifically democratic virtue.
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40Greed and Injustice in Classical AthensPrinceton University Press. 2001.In this original and rewarding combination of intellectual and political history, Ryan Balot offers a thorough historical and sociological interpretation of classical Athens centered on the notion of greed. Integrating ancient philosophy, poetry, and history, and drawing on modern political thought, the author demonstrates that the Athenian discourse on greed was an essential component of Greek social development and political history. Over time, the Athenians developed sophisticated psychologic…Read more
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28The dark side of democratic courageSocial Research: An International Quarterly 71 (1): 73-106. 2004.
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35Polybius’ Advice to the Imperial RepublicPolitical Theory 38 (4): 483-509. 2010.Polybius’ Histories, written in the mid—second century BC, offers an authoritative account of Rome’s rise to uncontested imperial supremacy. The work has been highly influential among political thinkers because of its theory of the “mixed constitution.” This essay proposes to return Polybius’ mixed constitution to its proper location within the narrative of the Histories. This interpretative approach enables us to appreciate Polybius’ frequently neglected emphasis on the connections between repu…Read more
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University of Toronto, St. George CampusRegular Faculty
Toronto, Ontario, Canada