How Does Law Rule? Plato on Habit, Political Education, and Legislation

Abstract

Not only does Plato’s Laws present likely the most thorough defense of the rule of law in the annals of political thought, it also contains a comprehensive teaching on how the steady rule of law works. I strive to illuminate Plato’s important explanation of the functioning of law by interpreting his thoughts on the relationship between written law, on the one hand, and unwritten law—which includes primarily habits—on the other. My essay analyzes several related themes from Plato’s Laws, such as the reason why good habits are elemental to the rule of law; the role of habituation in and for political education; and the use of play and public entertainment in the process of habituation. Finally, the essay concludes by considering how Plato’s teaching in the Laws can strengthen our understanding of how law rules.

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