Publisher Comments: The Closing of the American Mind, a publishing phenomenon in hardcover, is now a paperback literary event. In this acclaimed number one national best-seller, one of our country's most distinguished political philosophers argues that the social/political crisis of 20th-century America is really an intellectual crisis. Allan Bloom's sweeping analysis is essential to understanding America today. It has fired the imagination of a public ripe for change. Synopsis: The Closing of the American Mind, a publishing phenomenon in hardcover, is now a paperback literary event. In this acclaimed number one national best-seller, one of our country's most distinguished political philosophers argues that the social/political crisis of 20th-century America is really an intellectual crisis. Allan Bloom's sweeping analysis is essential to understanding America today. It has fired the imagination of a public ripe for change. Contents Foreword by Saul Bellow Preface Introduction: Our Virtue PART ONE. STUDENTS The Clean Slate Boob Music Relationships Self-Centeredness Equality Race Sex Separateness Divorce Love Eros PART TWO. NIHILISM, AMERICAN STYLE The German Connection Two Revolutions and Two States of Nature The Serf Creativity Culture Values The Nietzscheanization of the Left or Vice Versa Our Ignorance PART THREE. THE UNIVERSITY From Socrates' Apology to Heidegger's Rektoratsrede Tocqueville on Democratic Intellectual Life The Relation Between Thought and Civil Society The Philosophic Experience The Enlightenment Transformation Swift's Doubts Rousseau's Radicalization and the German University The Sixties The Student and the University Liberal Education The Decomposition of the University The Disciplines Conclusion Index

Long regarded as the most accurate rendering of Plato's Republic that has yet been published, this widely acclaimed work is the first strictly literal translation of a timeless classic. This second edition includes a new introduction by Professor Bloom, whose careful translation and interpretation of The Republic was first published in 1968. In addition to the correct text itself there is also a rich and valuable essay--as well as indexes and a glossary of terms--which will better enable the reader to approach the heart of Plato's intention.

本书是布鲁姆为他英译的《王制》（又译《理想国》、《国家篇》）所写的解释性文字。布鲁姆长期浸润在政治哲学中，对于《王制》更是钻研经年，每一个见解、每一处论断都是他深思熟虑、反复孕育的产物，故如河蚌炼珍珠，满篇皆珠玑。他的语言通俗易懂，流利畅达，说理透彻，富于情感，使得本书远远超出了一般理论家和学术人的局限，不仅会让已经具有一定知识基础和思想能力的人读后感到过瘾，对于一般大学生和社会读者也散发出迷人的魅力。这是思想原本就该具有的气质和风貌。 本书致力探究的“人应该如何生活？”这一终极问题与每个人都有关系，必能激发每个读者的头脑和心灵，进而引起读者自己对于这一问题的回答。因此，本书既是学者深入研究《王制》之必备，又是学生初步探索《王制》之指引，还是更多喜爱经典作品、热衷通识教育的人们借以进行自我提升的好材料。

本书论证现代民主的起源，品评马基雅维利、霍布斯、洛克、卢梭等启蒙思想家的意图及其得失，考察当代美国心智与德国思想之间的联系，批判20世纪60年代以来美国社会盛行的虚无主义及文化相对主义，揭示出民主政治之下高等教育的危机。

古希腊罗马的观点，政治能够塑造人的意识，而阿兰•布鲁姆将莎士比亚视为文艺复兴时期深刻的政治剧作家。他旨在重现莎士比亚的观念与信仰，使其著作再次成为严肃的道德、政治问题的公认资源。 在剖析《裘力斯•凯撒》、《奥瑟罗》和《威尼斯商人》的文章中，布鲁姆揭示了莎士比亚是如何展开他对人物的描绘的，在这点上不能假定文学批评享有特权。于是布鲁姆提出，政治哲学提供了一个全面的框架，在其中人们得以观察莎士比亚的英雄们所遭遇到的问题。一言以蔽之，布鲁姆认为莎士比亚是一位出类拔萃的政治作家。本书还包含一篇哈瑞•雅法的文章，论及《李尔王》中政治的局限。