Ancients and Moderns: Quarrels and Continuities

Examines the political thought of Plato and Aristotle together with three modern thinkers whose work was especially animated by engagement with their views of politics: Hobbes, Rousseau, and Nietzsche. Topics include the ends of politics and the nature of good government; the meaning of justice; the relationship between public and private; the value of equality and of hierarchy; the nature and role of freedom; the place of virtue in political life; and the relationship between philosophy and politics. In reading these moderns through the lens of Plato and Aristotle, we gain a richer understanding of both the quarrels and the continuities between ancient and modern political thought – and the dynamic relationship between them.