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"Plato's Sun-Like Good is a revolutionary discussion of the Republic's philosopher-rulers, their dialectic, and their relationship to the form of the good. With detailed arguments Sarah Broadie explains how, if we think of the form of the good as 'interrogative', we can re-conceive those central reference-points of Platonism in down-to-earth terms without loss to our sense of Plato's philosophical greatness. The book's main aims are, firstly, to show how for Plato the form of the good is of practical value in a way that we can understand; secondly, to make sense of the connection he draws between dialectic and the form of the good; and thirdly, to make sense of the relationship between the form of the good and other forms while respecting the contours of the sun-good analogy and remaining faithful to the text of the Republic itself"--

Plato's Sun-Like Good is a revolutionary discussion of the Republic's philosopher-rulers, their dialectic, and their relation to the form of the good. With detailed arguments Sarah Broadie explains how, if we think of the form of the good as 'interrogative', we can re-conceive those central reference-points of Platonism in down-to-earth terms without loss to our sense of Plato's philosophical greatness. The book's main aims are: first, to show how for Plato the form of the good is of practical value in a way that we can understand; secondly, to make sense of the connection he draws between dialectic and the form of the good; and thirdly, to make sense of the relationship between the form of the good and other forms while respecting the contours of the sun-good analogy and remaining faithful to the text of the Republic itself.

Affecting and being affected -- Backwards causation and continuing -- From necessity to fate : an inevitable step -- Alternative world histories -- A contemporary look at Aristotle's changing now -- Nature and craft in Aristotelian teleology -- Soul and body in Plato and Descartes -- Aristotle and contemporary ethics -- The idea of the summum bonum -- What should we mean by the highest good -- The good of practical beings : a Aristotelian perspectives -- Taking stock of leisure

Written over a period of thirty-five years, these essays, first published in 2007, explore the topics of causation, time, fate, determinism, natural teleology, different conceptions of the human soul, the idea of the highest good and the human significance of leisure. While most of the essays take as their starting-point some theme in Ancient Greek philosophy, they are meant not as exegesis but as distinctive and independent contributions to live philosophizing. Written with clarity, precision without technicality, and philosophical imagination, they will engage a wide range of readers, including scholars and students of Ancient Greek philosophy and others working on more contemporary analytical concerns

Intro -- Contents -- Chapter 1. Happiness, the Supreme End -- I. Presuppositions of the Question -- II. The Statesman's Objective -- III. Method and Starting Points -- IV. What is Happiness? -- V. Happiness Defined -- VI. Taking Stock of the Definition -- VII. On the Other Goods and the Scope of 'Happiness' -- Chapter 2. Virtues and Parts of the Soul -- I. Why an Ethics of Virtue? -- II. Division of the Soul (I) -- III. Division of the Soul (II) -- IV. Preliminaries on the Development of Virtue -- V. Virtue of Character and the Orthos Logos -- VI. 'A Prohairetic State' -- VII. Conditions of Virtuous Action -- VIII. 'With Pleasure' and 'for the Sake of the Noble' -- IX. The Status of the Mean -- X. How We Learn to Be Good -- XI. A Basis for Justice -- Chapter 3. The Voluntary -- I. General Perspectives -- II. Strains in'the Voluntary' -- III. Excuses and Nonexcuses -- IV. 'It Depends on Him' -- V. Character as Voluntary (I) -- VI. Character as Voluntary (II) -- Chapter 4. Practical Wisdom -- I. The Structure of Rational Choice -- II. The Purpose of NE Book VI -- III. Probing the Craft Analogy -- IV. Against the 'Grand End' View -- V. Practice and Production -- VI. Thought and Desire in Rational Choice -- VII. 'Practical Truth' -- VIII. The Works of Reason -- IX. End and Means in Deliberation -- X. Character and Intelligence in Deliberation (I) -- XI. Character and Intelligence in Deliberation (II) -- Chapter 5. Incontinence -- I. The Field of Incontinence -- II. How Incontinence Is Possible (I) -- III. How Incontinence Is Possible (II) -- IV. Incontinent Ignorance -- V. Essential Features and Contingent Manifestations -- VI. Aristotle's Analysis -- Chapter 6. Pleasure -- I. Why the Investigation of Pleasure? -- II. Pleasure and Natural Inclination -- III. The Challenge of Neutralism -- IV. Pleasure as Value-Judgment.

The philosophy of Aristotle (384–322,b.c.e.) remains a beacon of our culture. But no part of Aristotle's work is more alive and compelling today than his contribution to ethics and political science — nor more relevant to the subject of the present volume. Political science, in his view, begins with ethics, and the primary task of ethics is to elucidatehuman flourishing. Aristotle brings to this topic a mind unsurpassed in the depth, keenness, and comprehensiveness of its probing.