Janet Coleman's two volume history of European political
theorising, from the ancient Greeks to the Renaissance is the
introduction which many have been waiting for.
In this volume, Coleman discusses the acknowledged great works
of Greek, Roman, and early Christian writers to show how the
historical contexts in which certain ideas about ethics and
politics became dominant or fell from dominance, help to explain
the ideas themselves. Throughout she draws on recent scholarly
commentaries written by specialists in philosophy, contemporary
political theory, classical languages and cultures, and on ancient
and early Christian history and theology. Janet Coleman shows that
the Greeks and Romans' arguments can be seen as logical and
coherent if we can grasp the questions they thought it
important to answer.
Preface.
Introduction.
1. Ancient Athenian Democracy.
2. Socrates.
3. Plato.
4. Aristotle.
Interlude.
5. CiceroÆs Rome and CiceroÆs Republic (De re
publica).
6. St Augustine.
Bibliography.
Index.
"These volumes cover the scholarship of the last four decades with considerable care and in an impeccably cosmopolitan manner...in its second volume, the best single-volume history of medieval political thought to put into the hands of any intelligent and serious student...Coleman's History is a fine achievement and of clear use value throughout. It breathes the spirit of a very different epoch, while providing help for all of us who must deal, in our respective roles, with the ideas that it chronicles." John Dunn, University of Cambridge.
Janet Coleman is the Professor of Ancient and Medieval Political Thought in the Government Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Previously she taught in the Politics Department at Exeter University and for the History Faculty of Cambridge University. She Studied at Yale University and at L'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris. Her numerous publications include The Individual in Political Theory and Practice (ed. 1996), Ancient and Medieval Memories: Studies in the Reconstruction of the Past (1992), Against the State: Studies in Sedition and Rebellion (1990) and English Literature in History 1350-1400: Medieval Readers and Writers (1981). She is co-founder and co-editor of the international journal History of Political Thought.
J. Coleman, London School of Economics and Political Science
