Political Animal Press

17/03/2026

Bloom’s ’Republic’ for undergraduates. Bolotin’s lecture notes for beyond. Advance your Plato.

Edited with an introduction by Alex Priou and Paul Diduch. Preface by Peter J. Hansen.

Now available for preorder.

On Plato's Republic: The 1988 Lecture Notes

25/12/2025

In 2002, Judea Pearl’s son, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan while reporting on religious extremist groups in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. A video showed the captive journalist making coerced statements before he was killed. In one, Daniel Pearl said that he was Jewish, as were his parents.

Judea Pearl has not stopped thinking about that message. With his late wife Ruth Pearl and their two daughters, he established the Daniel Pearl Foundation to honor his son, including through a dialogue program with Muslim journalists. More recently, the Israeli-American scholar has also been contemplating what it means to be Jewish in the post-October 7 landscape.
https://tinyurl.com/4vvz95er

21/02/2025

It’s philosophy’s ultimate dinner party… and you’re invited.On today’s Classical Wisdom Speaks, Anya is joined by Professor Alex Priou to discuss Plato’s mos...

11/03/2024

Join us this Thursday at 7:30 pm ET (6:30 pm CT; 5:30 pm MT; 4:30 pm PT) as a superb panel discusses matters of both immediate and lasting importance - modern science and its relation to political thought.

Martin Yaffe of University of North Texas, Nathan Dinneen of Rochester Institute of Technology, David Clinton of Baylor University, and Kimberly Hurd Hale of Coastal Carolina University discuss 'The Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon, With Special Attention to the Principles of Foreign Policy' by Laurence Berns of St. John's College.

09/02/2024

Political Animal Press means to publish works of real philosophy and serious political thought. That is our mission. And so, we are proud to announce the release of 'The Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon, With Special Attention to the Principles of Foreign Policy' by the late, great Laurence Berns of St. John's College, edited by Martin Yaffe of University of North Texas and Nathan Dinneen of Rochester Institute of Technology, who has also contributed a new Foreword to the book.

This work is a deep investigation of modernity, especially modern science and its relationship to political thought. Laurence Berns reveals how the great thinker and statesman Francis Bacon understood his scientific-technological project to surpass both the classical thinkers and Machiavelli in wisdom and ambition. He gives clear accounts of both the many successes of Bacon's modern project, and the many problems that arise because of the increase in humanity's scientific-technical knowledge. For those interested in understanding the political philosophy of one of the founders of modern science, along with coming to terms with some of the philosophical problems associated with that science, Berns's book is indispensable.

We are delighted that the editors, Yaffe and Dinneen, will be engaged in public discussions of this work with other scholars. There will be an online panel discussion in March (details soon), an appearance on the outstanding The New Thinkery podcast, and more.

Available here: https://www.amazon.com/Political-Philosophy-Francis-Bacon-Principles/dp/1895131693/

And here: https://www.politicalanimalpress.com/product/the-political-philosophy-of-francis-bacon/

06/10/2023

A brilliant review in Law & Liberty by Eric Adler (University of Maryland Classics Department) of Alex Priou's (Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization; The New Thinkery) 'Musings on Plato's Symposium':

Alex Priou's aphoristic reflections on Plato's Symposium are not "scholarly." Rather, they invite the reader to a humanistic experience.

26/08/2023

Thanks to Spencer Klavan for immediately recognizing (and generously explaining on this episode of his podcast) the distinctiveness and beauty of Alex Priou's (Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization; Herbst Program for Engineering, Ethics & Society/ CU Boulder; The New Thinkery) new book, 'Musings on Plato's Symposium'. You can listen to their excellent discussion about love and Plato at the link below.

In the notes to the episode, Klavan writes, "Why isn't every book on philosophy like this one? Alex Priou... has written an exploration of Plato's Symposium that is both readable and profound... Alex has a great sense of what it can reveal to a modern reader."

Priou's new book is indeed a profound and readable guide to one of the greatest books ever written, on no less a subject than love, and it is also a challenge to other experts to write philosophic books that fully engage the reader.

People who care about philosophy, especially as it stands in late modernity, as well as those who care about matters of the heart in general, should read this book.

‎Show Young Heretics, Ep Interview: Alex Priou, Persian Satrap of the Kallipolis - Aug 25, 2023

15/08/2023

We are very proud to announce that this important book is now available. In "Musings on Plato's Symposium," Alex Priou (Herbst Program for Engineering, Ethics & Society/ CU Boulder; The New Thinkery) takes readers into the heart of matters of the heart, to explore Plato's deepest teachings about love.

Eschewing scholarly convention for a style of writing that is inspired by Plato, Priou's book is both a guide to the Symposium for those who seek to understand it, and a challenge to experts. This is real philosophy, written artfully about the most fundamental human concerns.

Order here:

https://www.amazon.com/Musings-Platos-Symposium-Alex-Priou/dp/1895131677

Or here:

https://www.politicalanimalpress.com/product/musings-on-platos-symposium/

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