416 pages

English language

Published Nov. 5, 2003 by Penguin Books.

ISBN:
978-0-14-044914-3
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4 stars (16 reviews)

There is a well-known saying that the whole of Western Philosophy is footnotes of Plato. This is because his writings have set the schema that philosophy can be said to have followed ever since. Following under the teachings of Socrates, Plato's works are among the world's greatest literature. The Republic is the centre around which the other Dialogues may be grouped; here philosophy reaches the highest point to which ancient thinkers ever attained. Plato among the Greeks, like Bacon among the moderns, was the first who conceived a method of knowledge, although neither of them always distinguished the bare outline or form from the substance of truth; and both of them had to be content with an abstraction of science which was not yet realized. He was the greatest metaphysical genius whom the world has seen; and in him, more than in any other ancient thinker, the germs of future …

43 editions

Review of 'The Republic' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Plato, through the words of his teacher Socrates, contemplates what is justice, is it good or evil? Is the just man, good or evil, happy or unhappy? He also contemplates whether justice is the path to virtuousness and eventually happiness. He decides to answer all these questions by presenting the perfect state, elaborating with astonishing details and describing the basic elements of such state and and necessary characteristics of its citizens.
Very deep and though-provoking points that will challenge even the strongest-minded reader. Challenging many modern aspects of our society, Plato manages to give us serious doubts and makes us wondering, doubting, questioning our own existence, way of living and the very foundations of our political, economic and social system. A warning to the lighthearted readers out there, this book is one of the bricks of the foundation of western philosophy, thus every sentence will create brain-squeezing results and make …

Review of 'The Republic' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Plato, through the words of his teacher Socrates, contemplates what is justice, is it good or evil? Is the just man, good or evil, happy or unhappy? He also contemplates whether justice is the path to virtuousness and eventually happiness. He decides to answer all these questions by presenting the perfect state, elaborating with astonishing details and describing the basic elements of such state and and necessary characteristics of its citizens.
Very deep and though-provoking points that will challenge even the strongest-minded reader. Challenging many modern aspects of our society, Plato manages to give us serious doubts and makes us wondering, doubting, questioning our own existence, way of living and the very foundations of our political, economic and social system. A warning to the lighthearted readers out there, this book is one of the bricks of the foundation of western philosophy, thus every sentence will create brain-squeezing results and make …

Review of 'The Republic' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

Listen, I get that this was written almost 2100 years ago, but besides arguing in favour of patently bad ideas like eugenics and state-run breeding programs instead of marriage, the actual logical structure of most of the arguments were sophomoric at best and almost all based on false analogy - I've heard better from high school debate teams.

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Subjects

  • Political science -- Early works to 1800
  • Utopias -- Early works to 1800