Why Plato Wrote argues that Plato was not only the worlds first systematic political philosopher, but also the western worlds first think-tank activist and message man.Shows that Plato wrote to change Athenian society and thereby transform Athenian politicsOffers accessible discussions of Platos philosophy of language and political theorySelected by Choice as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2011

Danielle S. Allen is UPS Foundation Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. She is the author ofThe World of Prometheus: The Politics of Punishing in Democratic Athens (2000) andTalking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship Since Brown vs. the Board of Education (2004).

Acknowledgments ix

Abbreviations xi

Prologue: Why Think about Plato? 1

Part I: Why Plato Wrote 9

Chapter 1: Who Was Plato? 11

Chapter 2: The Importance of Symbols in Human Life 24

Chapter 3: The Philosopher as Model-Maker 38

Chapter 4: The Philosopher as Shadow-Maker 55

Chapter 5: What Plato Wrote 70

Chapter 6: How Plato Lived 79

Part II: What Plato Did 87

Chapter 7: The Case for Influence 89

Chapter 8: Culture War Emergent 108

Chapter 9: Culture War Concluded 122

Epilogue: And to My Colleagues 143

Appendix 1: The Relationship between Paradigms and Forms 148

Appendix 2: A Second Tri-partite Division of the Soul? 154

Appendix 3: Miso- Compounds in Greek Literature 158

Notes 161

References 206

Further Reading 215

Index 219