Putnam discusses each of the fifteen odes found in the book, studying the work both as a whole and as a series of interactive units.

The essays collected in Persecution and the Art of Writing all deal with one problem--the relation between philosophy and politics. Here, Strauss sets forth the thesis that many philosophers, especially political philosophers, have reacted to the threat of persecution by disguising their most controversial and heterodox ideas.

Commodities and Capabilities presents a set of inter-related theses concerning the foundations of welfare economics, and in particular about the assessment of personal well-being and advantage. The argument presented focuses on the capability to function, i.e. what a person can do or can be, questioning in the process the more standard emphasis on opulence or on utility. In fact, a person's motivation behind choice is treated here as a parametric variable which may or may not coincide with the pursuit of (...) self-interest. Given the large number of practical problems arising from the roles and limitations of different concepts of interest and the judgement of advantage and well-being, this scholarly investigation is both of theoretical interest and practical import. (shrink)

"Strauss gives us an impressive addition to his life's work—the recovery of the Great Tradition in political philosophy. The problem the book proposes centers formally upon Socrates.

Par l’intérêt qu’il témoigne aux réalités économiques de son temps, Platon pose la plus actuelle des questions : quelle place donner à l’économie dans la cité ? Nécessaire pour assurer sa survie et son développement, elle la menace pourtant aussi de destruction tant qu’elle reste soustraite à toute régulation. Elle prend alors le relais de nos appétits les plus sauvages, et prétend s’imposer comme la seule politique qui vaille, tout en se soldant par la plus complète inefficacité. Pour lever cette (...) imposture et nous préserver de ses dangers, Platon se demande ce que veut dire faire la cité, et aboutit à cette conclusion : si les acteurs économiques contribuent à son édification, seuls les bons politiques la font véritablement, en ce qu’ils savent prescrire leurs fins aux pratiques économiques en vue du bien politique qu’est l’unité de la cité. Cet ouvrage est le seul entièrement consacré à l’économie chez Platon, et à la façon dont il la rend politique. (shrink)

Hendrik Lorenz presents a comprehensive study of Plato's and Aristotle's conceptions of non-rational desire. They see this as something that humans share with animals, and which aims primarily at the pleasures of food, drink, and sex. Lorenz explores the cognitive resources that both philosophers make available for the explanation of such desires, and what they take rationality to add to the motivational structure of human beings. In doing so, he finds conceptions of the mind that are coherent and deeply integrated (...) with both philosophers' views about such topics as the relation between body and soul, or the nature of the virtues. (shrink)