Nomos: Logismós ton Epithymion. Plato’s Laws and the (De)formation of Desires

Abstract

This paper looks to Plato’s Laws and the Republic for guidance on the role of education and the formation or deformation of desires. It focuses on two themes. The first is the concept of the “primary passions,” pleasure and pain, and how these tensions can move or excite the soul from one side to the other. The second theme revolves around the concept of a “difference of characters” from those primary passions that dominates Plato’s account including in the Republic VIII e IX. It aims to investigate how the right education and laws are able not only to make men whose actions are just but also how their desires can be expressed in a just and self-controlled manner. Our attention will focus on some books of the Laws, to relate law and education through the analysis of the formation and deformation of desires in young politicians.