Overcoming Uncertainty in Ancient Greek Political Philosophy makes an historical and theoretical contribution by explaining the role of opinion in ancient Greek political philosophy, showing its importance for Aristotle’s theory of deliberation, and indicating a new model for a deliberative republic. Currently, there are no studies of opinion in ancient Greek political theory and so the book breaks new historical ground. The book establishes that opinion is key for the political theories of Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics because each sees uncertainty as a problem that needs to be overcome if one is to establish a virtuous polity. Since they have different notions of the nature of the uncertainty of opinion, they develop very different political strategies to overcome it. The book explains that Plato’s and the Stoics’ analyses of uncertainty support oligarchy and monarchy, respectively, and that theoretical support for deliberate politics requires a more nuanced understanding of uncertainty that only Aristotle provides.

Chapter 2, 'Pay no attention to the model behind the curtain', Chapter 4, 'Mind the hubris: Complexity can misfire', and Chapter 8, ' Sensitivity auditing: A practical checklist for auditing decision-relevant models' are published open access and free to read or download from Oxford Academic The widespread use of mathematical models for policy-making and its social and political impact are at the core of this book. While the discussion of mathematical modelling generally centres around technical features, use, and type of model, the literature is increasingly acknowledging that the social nature of modelling, its biases and responsibilities, are equally worth investigating. This book tackles these emerging questions by adopting a multidisciplinary approach to investigate how current modelling practices address contemporary challenges, and fills a gap in the field, which has historically focused on statistical and algorithmic modes of producing numbers. Thanks to its multidisciplinary appeal, this book will be essential reading for modellers, public officials, policymakers, and scholars alike.

This book gives a general survey of political thought from Homer to the beginning of the Christian era. To the evidence of the philosophers is added that of Herodotus, Euripides, Thucydides, Polybius and others whose writings illustrate the course of Greek political thinking in the Classical and Hellenistic periods. This re-issues the second, updated edition of 1967.

Including the works of more than thirty authors, this edition of early Greek writings on social and political issues includes the origin of human society and law; the nature of justice and good government; the distribution of power among genders and social classes.

Do we believe the law good because it is just, or is it just because we think it is good? This collection of essays addresses the relationship of justice to law through the works of Homer, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles and the Islamic thinker al Farabi. The issues explored include the foundations of our understanding of justice; the foundation of authority of law; the relative merits of the rule of law versus the authority of a wise and just king; the uneasy relationship between particular laws and the general notion of justice (equity); various aspects of justice (reciprocity, proportionality) and their application in law; and the necessity of the rule of law to the goodness and success of a political order. The distinguished contributors often make explicit comparisons to modern situations and contemporary debates. This book will be valuable for those interested in classical political theory, political philosophy, and law.

First Published in 1999. Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) is widely acknowledged to be one of the great Jewish thinkers of the 20th century. This book explores the relationship between Levinas' ethical philosophy and his understanding of Judaism. Through close readings of his major texts, the significance of key terms in Levinas' work is clarified.

This book chronicles the way Keynes’s generous philosophy of practice evolved in consonance with the needs of his epoch. From a youngster reflecting on ethics and the classics, to becoming a leading voice in both wars in terms of political philosophy and international relations, to playing the role of innovator in both probability and economics, to taking a stance as an art appreciator, Keynes’s life and multidisciplinary contributions to humankind were permeated by his philosophical milieu. However, only a flexible, dynamic, and broad philosophy could have reflected and led the economic and political events in the world of the first part of the 20th Century, which is what Keynes managed to accomplish, and that is what the book suggests. This book captures the gist of Keynes’ evolutionary philosophy for our times. The book adds an evolutionary perspective to the existing literature on Keynes. As a case in point, the theoretical foundations of both macroeconomics and laissez faire are dissected. But the book also tells the story of how Keynes’s philosophy is adapted to a convulsed world, which is akin to ours, his legacy being gifted with multiple human considerations. The book offers an outline of Keynes’s philosophical stance—also compared with those of other European thinkers—at a moment when new ethical, epistemological, economic, and political perspectives are required, especially after the crisis of 2020. The conclusion is that Keynes ́s theoretical and practical insights were far ahead of his time.