Faculty Information |

AKAIWA Junji Faculty of Law Department of Law Associate Professor

■ Title
An Interpretation of Plato's Laws 845b-860e - Criminal Justice and a Socratic Paradox -

■ Outline
This essay offers an interpretation of Plato's Nomoi 842b-860e, from agricultural laws to
the answer of Athenian Stranger who was himself raising the question whether legislative activities are recommended or not. There are three parts in the essay. The first part shows that the agricultural legislation is well designed and could be seen as a prototype(paradeigma) for the rest of legislation. The second part shows that the legislative story, from the beginning of Book 9 to an objection by Cleinias(857b),is regarded as an intended error, which shows a possible misbehavior of criminal justice in a post agricultural society. The third and final part discusses about the question whether judicial and legislative activities themselves are included in the subject of a Socratic paradox,"No one willingly do wrong", introduced by Athenian Stranger(860d). This essay answers "yes",according to interpretations in the first and second part of the study. If that is the case, Plato assigns the Socratic paradox to a roll preventing the deviance of criminal justice.
Single The Annals of Legal Philosophy(2006) Japan Association of Legal Philosophy pp.219 2007/10