Jefferson and Plato: updates

Jefferson blamed Plato for the neo-Platonist accretions to Christian theology.

For those interested in the question I asked earlier about why Jefferson seemed uninterested in most of Greek literature, including Plato and Aristotle, I’ve added some updates based on emails from Andy, James, and two helpful readers. It turns out, for example, that Jefferson blamed Plato for the neo-Platonist accretions to Christian theology.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com