Knowledge and Law in Plato's Laws

George Klosko

Political Studies, 2008, vol. 56, issue 2, 456-474

Abstract: Although at one time the nocturnal council, discussed in Book XII of the Laws, was widely viewed as inconsistent with institutions presented in the earlier books, Glenn Morrow apparently solved this problem, in Plato's Cretan City, and his interpretation is accepted by most recent scholars. I revisit the case for inconsistency. As interpreted by Morrow, the nocturnal council is charged with attempting to improve the laws of Magnesia, through application of philosophic knowledge. However, textual evidence demonstrates that, at one point while he was writing the work, Plato was committed to the rule of all but unchanging laws, and to the extent laws were subject to revision, the nocturnal council played no role in this process. Unlike other inconsistencies in the Laws, this is a major conflict. Although we cannot be sure how to explain it, the most likely explanation posits a change of plans on Plato's part, the philosophical implications of which he did not fully work out.

Date: 2008
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