{"product_id":"9781400827176","title":"Plato's Fable: On the Mortal Condition in Shadowy Times","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book is an exploration of Plato's \u003ci\u003eRepublic\u003c\/i\u003e that bypasses arcane scholarly debates. \u003ci\u003ePlato's Fable\u003c\/i\u003e provides refreshing insight into what, in Plato's view, is the central problem of life: the mortal propensity to adopt defective ways of answering the question of how to live well.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e How, in light of these tendencies, can humankind be saved? Joshua Mitchell discusses the question in unprecedented depth by examining one of the great books of Western civilization.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e He draws us beyond the ancients\/moderns debate, and beyond the notion that Plato's \u003ci\u003eRepublic\u003c\/i\u003e is best understood as shedding light on the promise of discursive democracy. Instead, Mitchell argues, the question that ought to preoccupy us today is neither \"reason\" nor \"discourse,\" but rather \"imitation.\" To what extent is man first and foremost an \"imitative\" being? This, Mitchell asserts, is the subtext of the great political and foreign policy debates of our times.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e  \u003ci\u003ePlato's Fable\u003c\/i\u003e is not simply a work of textual exegesis. It is an attempt to move debates within political theory beyond their current location. Mitchell recovers insights about the depth of the problem of mortal imitation from Plato's magnificent work, and seeks to explicate the meaning of Plato's central claim--that \"only philosophy can save us.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47121436639472,"sku":"9781400827176","price":62.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781400827176_p0.jpg?v=1763713253","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781400827176","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}