Cinzia Arruzza is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York. She works on ancient philosophy and Marxist and feminist theory. She is the author of Plotinus. Ennead II 5. On What is Potentially and What Actually (Parmenides, 2015); Dangerous Liaisons. Marriages and Divorces of Marxism and Feminism (Merlin Press, 2013); Les Mésaventures de la théodicée. Plotin, Origène et Grégoire de Nysse (Brepols Publishers, 2011).
"""a fine and entirely commendable book on Plato's Republic. It provokes many questions and thoughts in interpreting Plato's political philosophy from a refreshingly new angle."" -- Jakub Jirsa, Bryn Mawr Classical Review ""In sum, this is an excellent book. It feels genuinely original and fresh. Its main claims are based on meticulous analysis of the relevant texts. Relevant scholarly literature is closely engaged, and yet, thankfully, such engagement does not bog down the discussion. The writing is crisp and clear, and the argument moves briskly. The book can safely be recommended to anyone interested in Plato's Republic, his political philosophy, his moral psychology, or classical political thought more generally."" -- Mark A. Johnstone, Journal of the History of Philosophy ""In her analysis of the textual details of theÂRepublic, Arruzza's work is masterful. She carefully handles everything from the historical minutiae of aristocratic clubs, to analyses of Plato's biological and animal metaphors."" -- Philosophical Quarterly ""Summing up: Recommended"" -- CHOICE ""[The book] is major contribution to scholarship. Its detailed analysis of the psychological condition of the tyrant is the fullest and best treatment we have of this subject. Its setting of Plato's portrait into its literary and political context is equally impressive and valuable. It is a book that should be read by every scholar and student of Plato's moral and political philosophy."" -- Richard Kraut, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews ""A masterly study of Plato's politics and psychology. Cinzia Arruzza's book teaches us an enormous amount about Athenian democracy and the representation of tyranny in Greek literature and history, while offering a new approach to the central concerns of Republic -- one as philosophically fruitful as it is historically revealing."" -- Jessica Moss, Professor of Philosophy, New York University ""This is an excellent work of scholarship on a topic that has not been considered enough by itself, and that will be of interest to Plato specialists, political theorists, and general readers. It is one of the many merits of this book that it shows a way to think against Plato's convenient pairing of democracy with tyranny. There will be no reason for anyone to read a book like this one when either Plato is deemed irrelevant to our cultural discourse, or tyranny becomes an accepted fact of political life. Until those two grim events arrive, people will want to read this, which is written to scholarly standards but accessible to the educated reader."" -- Nickolas Pappas, Professor of Philosophy, The Graduate Center, CUNY"