New Books in Critical Theory Carol Atack, "Plato: A Civic Life" (Reaktion, 2025)
Sep 27, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Carol Atack, a Fellow at the University of Cambridge, dives into her book exploring Plato's life and thought. She reveals how Athens' turbulent history shaped Plato’s views on democracy and civic life. Atack highlights new evidence from Herculaneum that sheds light on his Academy and critiques of rhetoric. She also connects Plato's methods to contemporary issues, suggesting that his dialogues can foster better public debate today. A fascinating blend of philosophy and history awaits!
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Plato's Political-Literary Fusion
- Plato's writings fuse political thought with literary craft to make ideas memorable and teachable.
- Carol Atack argues his dual training in politics and classics shaped a historically grounded philosophy.
Dialogues As Memorialized Social Worlds
- Reading Plato only as abstract argument strips him of his social and biographical context.
- Atack shows his dialogues memorialize real people and debates from turbulent Athens.
Herculaneum Scroll & New Imaging Finds
- A damaged Herculaneum papyrus gives a partly legible early history of Plato's Academy and a description of his death.
- Imaging advances and AI-style pattern recognition helped recover words from the incinerated scroll.
