What is it about?
What is the relationship between morality or justice and law? How well can they be made to correspond? To what extent must they conflict? What sorts of laws are there, and what aspects of morality/justice do they correspond with? These sorts of questions and others are examined in a short, neglected Platonic dialogue, The Minos, which this article aims to examine and interpret.
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Why is it important?
While most scholars are aware of the importance of Plato's longest dialogue, The Laws, little attention has been paid to Plato's shorter dialogue on law, The Minos. Nonetheless, The Minos forms an important part of Plato's understanding of law not to be found in his longer dialogue The Laws.
Perspectives
I hope this article brings to light the depth of meaning in a short, neglected Platonic dialogue, The Minos, and shows how much can be gained from studying the Platonic dialogues with care.
Steven Thomason
Ouachita Baptist University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Philosophy and Law: An Interpretation of Plato’s Minos, Polis The Journal for Ancient Greek and Roman Political Thought, May 2015, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/20512996-12340038.
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