Guerra e paz em Magnésia: a reflexão sobre o problema do conflito nas Leis de Platão

Richard Romeiro Oliveira

doi:10.32334/oqnfp.2025n56a1057

PDF (Português (Brasil))

Published: Jun 30, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32334/oqnfp.2025n56a1057

Keywords:

War; Peace; Conflict; Irenism.

Richard Romeiro Oliveira

Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei (UFSJ)

Abstract

This article examines Plato's approach to the problem of war in the Laws, seeking to observe how the critique developed by the protagonist of this dialogue, the Stranger of Athens, of the bellicose nature of the Cretan and Spartan regimes does not involve adopting an irenist political stance. In this sense, the article seeks to highlight how the refutation of the militarism of the Cretan and Spartan laws in the context of Book I of the Laws, with its consequent proposition of an internal irenic model based on the realization of civic unity (φίλια) and the neutralization of the possibility of civil war (στάσις), is consistent, in the discursive development of the dialogue, with the recognition of the inevitability of external war (πόλεμος), leading to the defense of civic military preparedness as a practical necessity of the polis. In its conclusion, the work emphasizes the sophisticated and realistic character of the Platonic teaching outlined in the Laws regarding war, a teaching that manages to balance the demand for internal political harmony with warlike pragmatism, rejecting pacifist utopias.

Issue

Vol. 33 No. 56 (2025): Plato's Laws

Section

Articles

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Author Biography

Richard Romeiro Oliveira, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei (UFSJ)

Born in Belo Horizonte. He completed his academic training at UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais), where he graduated in philosophy in 1996 and obtained his master's degree in 2000 with the dissertation "Nómos e epistéme: the problem of the nature of law in Plato's Politics,“ and received his doctorate in 2006 with the thesis ”Political demiurgy: the relations between reason and the city in Plato's Laws." With this work, he received first place in the “UFMG Thesis Award” competition in 2007 and an honorable mention in the national “CAPES Thesis Award” competition. Subsequently, this research was published as a book by Edições Loyola, one of the most respected Brazilian publishers in the field of philosophy. As a professor, he has worked at the following educational institutions: PUC Minas (Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais), UEMG (State University of Minas Gerais), UFOP (Federal University of Ouro Preto), FAJE (Jesuit College of Philosophy and Theology), and UFPE (Federal University of Pernambuco). He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Methods (DFIME) at the Federal University of São João del-Rei (UFSJ) and a permanent professor in the Graduate Programs in Philosophy at the Federal University of São João del-Rei and the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE). His research focuses on the areas of Ancient Philosophy, Ethics, and Political Philosophy.

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