Plato's the Republic

I was having trouble interpreting Plato's The Republic, this book has been tremendously helpful. If you are having the same problem then get this book now!!

I found this to be a clear, concise, and well written quide to understanding this venerable work. The author covers many topics, from the social and historical context of the work to the more abstract philosophical ideas. It helped me to better appreciate this important work and I learned a lot that was valuable and even useful. I had a few comments myself to make. There might now be much I can add in a scholarly vein to what people have already said about Plato. But I thought I would make a few personal observations from the standpoint of a somewhat philosophically literate, 21st century man who is reading such an august classic in middle age. I came to this book with more of a background in modern epistemology and the philosophy of science than in classical philosophy. So political philosophy isn't exactly my strong suit, but nevertheless I found the book interesting reading in a way I hadn't really thought of before. Actually, I had read portions of this book 20 years ago when I was a young student first studying philosophy, and I have to say, there is something to be said for having a more mature outlook in approaching such a venerable work. At the time I thought political philosophy pretty dull stuff, and besides, I felt there was no real way to answer any of the important political questions that get debated here, despite the easy way Socrates disposes of everybody else's half-baked opinions and theories. The fact is, if you move ahead 2400 years and read something like Karl Popper's "The Open Society and Its Enemies," an advanced modern work, you can see how much, or how little, political philosophy has progressed in the last 24 centuries. Well, that may be true, but at least with this book you know where it basically all started. The best way to decide this issue is to read the book and decide for yourself. Although entitled "The Republic," this society isn't like any republic you've probably ever read about. Plato proposes an ant- like communism where there is no private ownership of property, philosophers are kings, kings are philosophers, people cultivate physical, moral, and ethical qualities, and the idea of the good takes the place of political and social virtues. Another odd facet is that the bravest citizens are permitted more wives than those less brave in battle. And then there is the infamous proposition that all poets and artists are to be banished since they are harmful purveyors of false illusions. I find the Socratic method as a way of moving along the dialogue between the participants sort of interesting, and it is certainly an effective device. However, none of these people, even the famous Sophist Thrasymachus, are really Socrates' intellectual equal, so he really doesn't have much competition here. (Cheap shot from the "Peanut Gallery"--not to digress too much, here, but if Socrates was supposed to be so wise, how come he married such a shrewish woman for a wife, Xantippe? They joked about how funny and incongr

This is a good helper to make it through Plato's Republic. However, some of the most important parts (e.g. the abolition of the family and the equality of women) are skipped over. Also, the term paper ideas are not very original... most college students could come up with these ideas on their own. But, it does help if you have trouble interpreting the Socratic dialogs. For the price, it's a good deal.

For college students, this book is a godsend. It lays out in common English basically everything that Plato and Socrates say in The Republic. Some of the most famous things from The Republic, including the Noble Lie, the Ship of State, and the Allegory of the Cave are put into layman's terms, making those papers and homework questions relatively easy to write. If you are a student, or are reading The Republic for fun, you have to have this book.

It has been said that all political theory books are meer footnotes to Plato's masterpiece, the Republic. This is probably true on a descriptive scale. Plato puts forth the basic essentials of any and all forms of government and the men who support it. He laid the groundworks for generations of philosophers, government officials, and nations. However, Plato's idea of the utopian state is rather flawed and impractical. He preaches the dissolustion of private property, sharing of all possesions (including women and children!), censorship, a class system, and rule by philosopher kings. But he also brings forth ideas that were well ahead of their time, such as equal rights for women, monotheist beliefs, free and public education, education techniques, and more. Anyone interested in politics and the nature of society should read this book as a basis for exploration of this wide and interesting field.