Plato's Penal Code: Tradition, Controversy, And Reform in Greek Penology - Couverture rigide

Saunders, Trevor J.

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0198148933 ISBN 13 : 9780198148937

Editeur : Clarendon Press, 1991

Synopsis

From a primitive system of self-help the Greeks gradually evolved formal legal processes and law-courts very similar to those of today. This development has been studied closely by several scholars and yet, despite the great interest and importance of the topic, no history of Greek penology has ever been written. This book, which is the fruit of 30 years' work on the subject, assesses Plato's penal code within the tradition of Greek penology. The author provides a detailed exposition of the emergence, for the first time in European thought, of the concept of publicly controlled, rationally calculated, and socially directed punishment in the period between Homer and Plato. He outlines the serious debate that ensued in the 5th century over the opposition of philosophers to popular judicial assumptions, and shows how the philosophical arguments gradually gained ground. He shows that in his "Laws", dating from the mid-4th century, Plato advanced the most radical of the philosophical formulations of the concept of punishment. Plato's view, which is inspired by the Socratic paradox that no-one does wrong willingly, is that punishment is or should be utilitarian and strictly reformative. This, of course, is a striking anticipation of certain modern policies and has important theoretical and practical implications. The code itself is of considerable length and startling complexity. It is obviously based on the contemporary Athenian code, but Plato makes many alterations and his effort to adapt existing practice to new purposes is thoroughgoing, meticulous, and ingenious. It should interest students and scholars of ancient philosophy, ancient history, classics, and legal theory.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

The ancient Greeks were vigorous critics of their own culture. Their literature is full of debate about punishment: who should inflict it on whom, for what offence, and in what form. Yet few questioned the traditional orthodoxy that it ought to be primarily retributive. The great exception was Plato. Building on certain insights of Socrates and Protagoras, he advocated a strictly reformative penology, cast in medical terms and designed to `cure' the offender's mental state. This book traces the development of Greek ideas and controversies about punishement from Homer to Plato. It then demonstrates in detail how in his Laws Plato attempts to give concrete expression to his radical new penology by in effect rewriting the Athenian penal code. The ancient problem of the purpose of punishment is still of relevance to contempary society. This expostion of Plato's instructive and important attempt to solve it is therefore written with the needs of non-specialists very much in mind. The complex material is lucidly set out, and key Greek terms are transliterated and explained.

Revue de presse

Quite simply, essential reading. (Greece and Rome)

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Clarendon Press
• Date d'édition: 1991
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0198148933
• ISBN 13: 9780198148937
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 431
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: Messaggerie Libri; ufficio.anagrafiche@meli.it; ; Via Verdi, 8; Assago Milano; Italie