The Republic - Plato

The Republic is probably Plato's most significant work. Completely understandable as most of the ideas in western philosophy arise out of this book. It is for that reason that The Republic is definately worth a read. If you are studying politics or philosophy this book is a must read. Even if you do not study either of those, it is still worth reading. It will give you a general idea of why society has become the way it is. I personally find philosophy books difficult to read. It is not the case with The Republic. The dialectic style in which Plato writes, I think, makes The Republic far easier to understand. Socrates the main character draws conclusions out of the other ...  Read the complete review

Republic. The roots of the former word lead us back to the latin two wor equivalent res publica which roughly means "public affairs". However the original title in Greek "politia", has a similar though not identical. It is more closely related to the abstract concept of a state's constitution. Plato unfolds in this book, his whole conception of the ideal state, through a dialectic process, between Socrates and a group of Athenian citizens(Glauchon, Adeimantus, Thrasymachus among them). Firstly, Plato through Socrates discusses the idea of justice, and by means of his proposal to study justice on the macroscopic level of society justice, ...  Read the complete review

Plato's Republic is probably the most widely read book in the history of philosophy. Plato himself was a Greek philosopher, pupil of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, and so influential the early 20th century philosopher A. N. Whitehead described all subsequent developments in the field of philosophy as 'footnotes to Plato's work'. I first came across The Republic, Plato's seminal work, while on an open day to Oxford. Knowing I wanted to study philosophy, I picked up several books, one of which was Republic. I read it that summer and to tell the truth was slightly confused - parts of it stuck with me, but it being the first philosophy book ...  Read the complete review