Philosophy

The Republic

The Republic

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  • Create Date：2021-05-06 10:53:42
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Plato
  • ISBN：0140455116
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Summary

One of the greatest works of philosophy and political theory ever produced， Plato's The Republic has shaped western thought for thousands of years， remaining as relevant today as when it was first written in the Ancient Greece。 This Penguin Classics edition is translated by Desmond lee with a new introduction by Melissa Lane。

Plato's Republic is widely acknowledged as the cornerstone of Western philosophy。 Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors， it is an enquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it。 During the conversation other questions are raised: what is goodness; what is reality; what is knowledge？ The Republic also addresses the purpose of education and the role of both women and men as 'guardians' of the people。 With remarkable lucidity and deft use of allegory， Plato arrives at a depiction of a state bound by harmony and ruled by 'philosopher kings'。

Desmond Lee's translation of The Republic has come to be regarded as a classic in its own right。 His introduction discusses contextual themes such as Plato's disillusionment with Athenian politics and the trial of Socrates。 The new introduction by Melissa Lane discusses Plato's aims in writing The Republic， its major arguments and its perspective on politics in ancient Greece， and its significance through the ages and today。

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Reviews

Cind ，

Read the Benjamin Jowett translation， which isn't my favourite interpretation of some of Plato's most notable quotes from The Republic。Everyone should read this book at some point in their lifetime。 Now， more than ever， Plato's cave is especially pertinent to understanding the current political climate。 “The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself。” Read the Benjamin Jowett translation， which isn't my favourite interpretation of some of Plato's most notable quotes from The Republic。Everyone should read this book at some point in their lifetime。 Now， more than ever， Plato's cave is especially pertinent to understanding the current political climate。 “The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself。” 。。。more

Bruce Lyons ，

As we all know The Republic is a classic that hardly needs another review。 But I wanted to address some of the other reviews or comments I see about this book regarding Socrates being a horrible sexist。 What he suggests in book 5 （communal wives and children in the pursuit of unity） is absurd by not only today's standards but also ancient Athenian standards。 He was simply doing what Socrates does best， being objective and slightly annoying by proposing oversimplified ideas in order to make one t As we all know The Republic is a classic that hardly needs another review。 But I wanted to address some of the other reviews or comments I see about this book regarding Socrates being a horrible sexist。 What he suggests in book 5 （communal wives and children in the pursuit of unity） is absurd by not only today's standards but also ancient Athenian standards。 He was simply doing what Socrates does best， being objective and slightly annoying by proposing oversimplified ideas in order to make one think。 Socrates using the Socratic method should be no surprise to anyone reading this book， so do not get vexed for him applying it to a subject you deem controversial。 。。。more

Adalberto Alves ，

Perfect book to whet my philosophical appetite。"Even in the outwardly most respectable of us there is a terribly bestial and immoral type of desire" Perfect book to whet my philosophical appetite。"Even in the outwardly most respectable of us there is a terribly bestial and immoral type of desire" 。。。more

Simon ，

The book can be divided into three parts。 What is the justice， what is the idea world and what are several states of government。Virtue ethics is often overlooked in modern education， so I learned a lot there。

zahra ，

Technically this is fake news

Aaron California ，

Comments from a readerFor the lay person， this book has good things it will teach you and things you will disagree with。 I thi k this is a book more for professional researchers of ethics。

Matei Tanasă ，

Truly deserves to be the book that has it's mark on history more than any other writing。 Europe as we know it would not have happened if Plato hadn't created。 Truly deserves to be the book that has it's mark on history more than any other writing。 Europe as we know it would not have happened if Plato hadn't created。 。。。more

Rogelio Delfín Chávez ，

Como una obra literaria del pasado， presenta varios conceptos sociales que debieron ser revolucionarios para su época。 Para nuestros tiempos， seguramente parece arcaico o un pensamiento primitivo。 Hay que saber apreciar la obra por lo que es: una obra que invita a la reflexión sobre el entorno político de la sociedad y la Nación en que se vive。La obra se presenta como una extensa charla entre amigos。 Nada diferente a lo que muchos grupos de amigos hacen cuando se reúnen y llegan las altas horas Como una obra literaria del pasado， presenta varios conceptos sociales que debieron ser revolucionarios para su época。 Para nuestros tiempos， seguramente parece arcaico o un pensamiento primitivo。 Hay que saber apreciar la obra por lo que es: una obra que invita a la reflexión sobre el entorno político de la sociedad y la Nación en que se vive。La obra se presenta como una extensa charla entre amigos。 Nada diferente a lo que muchos grupos de amigos hacen cuando se reúnen y llegan las altas horas de la madrugada mientras discuten sobre la vida en general。Quizás sea un libro pesado de leer para muchos jóvenes， pero creo que lo deberían de leer para que reflexionen sobre las sociedades que heredarán。 。。。more

Benjamin Quartey ，

7。5/10

Ethan E。 ，

im gonna travel back in time just to be one the jurors who sentenced Socrates to death

John ，

This famous old book deserves to be famous。 Bloom's translation strategy is to try to mirror the Greek in English， and let the otherness of the original speak for itself， as well as let the Greeks be Greeks without filters。 There are numerous back-of-book notes to give brief biographies of the speakers， to complete literary references and show when they have been adjusted or taken out of context， and to do the work of a more poetic translator。 I first skimmed this in college， where I struggled t This famous old book deserves to be famous。 Bloom's translation strategy is to try to mirror the Greek in English， and let the otherness of the original speak for itself， as well as let the Greeks be Greeks without filters。 There are numerous back-of-book notes to give brief biographies of the speakers， to complete literary references and show when they have been adjusted or taken out of context， and to do the work of a more poetic translator。 I first skimmed this in college， where I struggled to keep up enough for the class discussion。 At the time， I was looking for wisdom from ancient philosophers， and followed the arguments like math proofs。 Now， I read it a little more critically。 When Socrates talks about raising kids in common， and banishing the first generation of adults to the countryside， I see the ironic ridiculousness and impossibility of his most just city。 I also feel more of the dramatic tension， of young ambitious men who could be convinced to fight for the utopia， Plato's voice in the narrative without appearing himself， and allusions to Socrates' trial， conviction， and death。 I first enjoyed it like one of Shakespeare's histories， and then found myself drawn into the argument。 I found enough to reflect on my struggles with the right approach to living in our own imperfect society， and Socrates' invitation to philosophy seems to still be a desirable solution。 I'm trying to avoid writing a college essay。 The Wikipedia page has a decent overview， and many words have been written to interpret the book。 Bloom includes an essay， which summarizes the discussion and adds useful interpretations。 This took me another few weeks to read， changed my mind about several aspects， and was as thought provoking as the text。This book hits very differently after twenty years， and has reignited an interest in philosophy。 I look forward to reading it again in ten to twenty years。 。。。more

margie freeman ，

he wrote all of this and for what 。 😐

Monica ，

It takes a very skilled writer to spin such a fantastic story。 I love it。 You can join in NovelStar writing contest happening this April till the end of May with a theme werewolf。 You can also publish your stories in NovelStar， just email our editors hardy@novelstar。top， joye@novelstar。top， or lena@novelstar。top。

Reigne ，

this book has a compelling story line and was actually hard to put down。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top

Aime Dollete ，

Awesome novel。 I love it。 You can join in NovelStar writing contest with a theme "WEREWOLVES" Prices are amazing！ https://author。starlight。ink/essay/in。。。 （PC） http://app。novelstar。top/index/index/。。。 or email any of the following editors; hardy@novelstar。top joye@novelstar。top lena@novelstar。top app。novelstar。top Awesome novel。 I love it。 You can join in NovelStar writing contest with a theme "WEREWOLVES" Prices are amazing！ https://author。starlight。ink/essay/in。。。 （PC） http://app。novelstar。top/index/index/。。。 or email any of the following editors; hardy@novelstar。top joye@novelstar。top lena@novelstar。top app。novelstar。top 。。。more

Amaure ，

Such a treasure each one of these books is :） I've heard a few of them and can't wait to read most of these :） If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top Such a treasure each one of these books is :） I've heard a few of them and can't wait to read most of these :） If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top 。。。more

Will ，

This would have been stronger had Thrasymachus stuck around after the initial discussion on justice to challenge Socrates rather than insufferable Glaucon。

David Kenvyn ，

It seems very strange to be posting comments on Plato’s Republic nearly 2，500 years after it was written， and especially as it is one of the books that has been most commented on in the Western canon。 Having just re-read it， it has struck me that there are some things that might be worth saying， and that it might well be worth drawing attention to these issues。The first thing is obvious: the narrator is Socrates and he is telling the story of a discussion between himself， Ariston， Adeimantus， Gl It seems very strange to be posting comments on Plato’s Republic nearly 2，500 years after it was written， and especially as it is one of the books that has been most commented on in the Western canon。 Having just re-read it， it has struck me that there are some things that might be worth saying， and that it might well be worth drawing attention to these issues。The first thing is obvious: the narrator is Socrates and he is telling the story of a discussion between himself， Ariston， Adeimantus， Glaucon， Thrasymachus and Polemarchus。 Anyone nowadays would raise the question of his reliability as a narrator。 Setting aside any doubts about his memory， Socrates does appear to be giving himself the best of the argument。 We cannot test what is written here against the accounts of any of the other participants， because they have not left anything of the kind。 There is also the question of who is the recipient of this narration。 It must be Plato， who according to this account did not take any part in the discussion and possibly was not there。 This raises another question about the reliability of the text depending on the length of the gap between the narration and the writing。 There is also the question about whether any of this matters。 The Republic sets out a conversation in order to set discuss ideas about governance， justice and happiness。 My view is that this is not a historical document in the generally accepted use of that term。 It is a document in the history of ideas。 That is what matters。This is where we come up against my first issue。 Socrates and the others are quite clear that in the Philosopher Kingdom， drama will not be allowed。 Yet the form of the conversation is very clearly dramatic。 It could quite easily be set out in the normal format for a play， with scenes， and speeches assigned to each character。 It even has its dramatic moments with Thrasymachus being forced to concede an argument， and there is a triumphant conclusion that rule by philosophers is the best form of government。 It seems to me that in the Philosopher Kingdom the publication of this work would not be allowed。My second area of difficulty is the assertion that men and women will be eligible for the role of Guardians， that is the government， of the Philosopher Kingdom， and that they must therefore be educated to the same standard。 Then comes the ruling that amongst the Guardians women and children will be held in common。 The clear implication is that women are inferior to men， and this is reinforced by comments made by Socrates and the others during the course of the conversation。 Of course， it can be argued that this merely reflected the misogyny of Ancient Greece， but it does seem to me that the idea has not been thought out。My third dispute is with some of the imagery used to prove a point。 Socrates argues that ceilings are the same， fulfilling the purpose of providing a covering for a building。 This is clearly a man who has not seen the geometric patterns of mosques， nor the mosaics and frescoes of churches。 I do not know what the ceilings of Greek temples looked like in the time of Socrates。 I do not know if they were painted or not。 But ceilings are not the same。 Even plain ceilings can be painted different colours， and these can have different effects。 There are cool colours and warm colours and these affect the ambience of a room。 I do not expect Plato to have envisaged the Sistine Chapel。 It is just that I would like a bit more imagination。I am therefore not convinced about his argument for the efficacy of the Philosopher Kingdom。 。。。more

Scotty ，

If Plato had made these arguments today he would undoubtably be labelled a Nazi。 For a book about a dictatorship of philosopher kings one of his first arguments is that it is just to disobey rulers because they "are not infallible， but do really commit some mistakes"He disagrees with rule of the majority because he thinks most people are stupid and don't know moderation: "Those desires and pleasures and pains， which are many and various， will be chiefly found in children and women and servants; If Plato had made these arguments today he would undoubtably be labelled a Nazi。 For a book about a dictatorship of philosopher kings one of his first arguments is that it is just to disobey rulers because they "are not infallible， but do really commit some mistakes"He disagrees with rule of the majority because he thinks most people are stupid and don't know moderation: "Those desires and pleasures and pains， which are many and various， will be chiefly found in children and women and servants; and in the vulgar mass also among nominal freemen 。。。 On the other hand， those simple and moderate desires which go hand in hand with intellect and right opinion， under the guidance of reasoning， will be found in a small number of men 。。。 the desires of the vulgar many are there controlled by the desires and wisdom of the cultivated few"Although he is a bit sexist as he says women are weak and stupid he is really ahead of his time on women's rights and believes that "we shall have to select duly qualified women also， to share in the life and official labours of the duly qualified men; since we find that they are competent to do the work" and that "we are to employ the women in the same duties as the men 。。。 we must train women in the same two arts， giving them besides a military education， and treating them in the same way as the men"。Next he makes an argument for eugenics and social darwinism "are there not some which are， or grow to be， superior to the rest？ There are。 Do you then breed from all alike， or are you anxious to breed as much as possible from the best？ From the best 。。。 And if you were to persue a different course， do you think your breed of birds and dogs would degenerate very much？ I do。 Do you think it would be any different with horses， or any other animals？ Certainly not; it would be absurd to suppose it 。。。 What very first-rate men our rulers ought to be， if the analogy hold with regard to the human race"， adding "the best of both sexes ought to be brought together as often as possible， and the worst as seldom as possible， and that the issue of the former unions ought to be reared， and that of the latter abandoned， if the flock is to attain to first-rate excellence: and these proceedings ought to be kept a secret 。。。 Then we shall have to ordain ceetain festivals， at which we shall bring together the brides and the bridegrooms 。。。 the number of marriages we shall place under control of the magistrates， in order that they may， as far as they can， keep the population at the same point 。。。 be prevented from becoming either too great or too small 。。。 we must therefore contrive an ingenious system of lots， I fancy， in order that those inferior persons， of whom I spoke， may impute the manner in which couples are united to chance， and not to the magistrates"， then it gets worse "those of our young men who distinguish themselves in the field or elsewhere， will recieve， along with other privileges and rewards， more liberal permission to associate with the women 。。。 while the issue of inferior parents， and all the imperfect children that are born to the others， will be concealed， as is fitting， in some mysterious and unknown hiding-place"Then it somehow manages to get even worse than that "The same law will hold should a man who is still of age to be a father meddle with a woman who is also of the proper age， without the introduction of the magistrate: for we shall accuse him of raising up to the state an illegitimate， unsponsored and unhallowed child。 You are perfectly right 。。。 But the law will allow intercourse between brothers and sisters， if the lot chances to fall that way 。。。 That is quite right， said he"。 "our guardians hold their wives and children in common 。。。 the highest perfection of the state is due to the community of wives and children"。He also believes in rule by seniority "An older person， however， will be authorised to command and chastise any that are younger than himself。 Clearly。" and that nobody should be allowed to say no "That he should kiss and be kissed by them all。 Most certainly I do， and I would add to the law that during the continuance of the campaign no one whom he has a mind to kiss be permitted to refuse him the satisfaction， in order that if any soldier happens to entertain an admiration for either male or female comrade， he may be the more stimulated to carry off the meed of valour"He advocates for an aristocracy calling it "both good and just"， criticising oligarchy as the great riches in turn create great poverty which leads to crime。 He then says democracy "arises whenever the poor win the day" and criticises it as "lawless"， saying it treats "all alike on a footing of equality， whether they be really equal or not"。 He is upset that it destroys rule by seniority and apparently makes people shameless， intemperate， immoderate， discharging virtues leading to "insolence， and disorder"， declaring "disorder as freedom" and being "led by the passing pleasure" and acting "according to the impulse of the moment" and claims it inevitably develops into tyranny。 He calls "that glorious thing， despotism" "the most beautiful of all commonwealths" and the despot "the most beautiful of all men" although he later calls it "supremely wicked" and says that "a city governed by a tyrant is the most miserable of cities" in comparison to a "supremely virtuous" kingdom that has "the happiest of cities"。 He says his order of preference is "in order: the kingly， the timocratical， the oligarchal， the democratical， the tyrannical"。 。。。more

Maya Joelle ，

I remember some of this。。。 a little bit。。。 maybe。Read books 1， 2， 7-10 for Roman Roads。

Roy ，

It's just an old man ranting about politics。 The parts that adhere to philosophy are only there for him to try and rectify his political views。 I don't care how historically significant it is， an old man from Greece thousands of years ago telling me how I should rule a nation has literally zero impact on my life in any way whatsoever。 At one part he even says that "leaders of a nation should have no political ambition whatsoever"， but then who is this book even meant for？ Who but political aspir It's just an old man ranting about politics。 The parts that adhere to philosophy are only there for him to try and rectify his political views。 I don't care how historically significant it is， an old man from Greece thousands of years ago telling me how I should rule a nation has literally zero impact on my life in any way whatsoever。 At one part he even says that "leaders of a nation should have no political ambition whatsoever"， but then who is this book even meant for？ Who but political aspirants could gain anything from this？ It just ain't my cup of tea。 。。。more

Juxton Cromsley ，

This is a hard one to rate and I feel like the 3 star rating is not equal to other 3s I've given。 It's obviously a very important book to our history blah blahOn one hand I really enjoyed Plato's description of philosophy and justice and perception of the external forms and all that， and what it is that makes one a Philosopher King。 There's some good arguments in here as to why philosophers should be the leaders。 And of course the allegory of the cave is pretty great。But the whole fostering an e This is a hard one to rate and I feel like the 3 star rating is not equal to other 3s I've given。 It's obviously a very important book to our history blah blahOn one hand I really enjoyed Plato's description of philosophy and justice and perception of the external forms and all that， and what it is that makes one a Philosopher King。 There's some good arguments in here as to why philosophers should be the leaders。 And of course the allegory of the cave is pretty great。But the whole fostering an elite society to rule over the common people and also throwing poets out of the city didn't sit right with me。 It's fascinating， however， to see how this ideology has been applied in a modern context under totalitarian/communist rule。 The obvious and glaring argument against this is that it is impossible to just assume that the people will be comfortable being assigned into social classes without extremely unrest and eventual revolt against the state。 But Plato/Socrates here is describing what he would view as a utopia which just doesn't work in practice。 Also I wasn't a huge fan of how the dialectic was carried out especially toward the end， basically just Socrates telling a straw man how cool and smart he is。 But it's a nice style to read。 I'm still glad I read it and I will probably read again when my brain gets bigger。 。。。more

Que Orteza ，

This was a very entertaining read。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top

Kimberly Horton ，

Fantastic。 Delightfully incorrect。 So good。

Levy ，

I don't get the all the fuss about this work。 Popper was definitely unfair to Plato。 Plato was not a proto-totalitarian theorist and i think Plato's vision on the ideal society is more open and ambigious than Popper suggests。 Yet i also don't get what is supposed to be so great about this work。 Apart from some decent discussions （and of course the brilliant cave analogy） i didn't find it a very compelling work。 Maybe it's the translation？ I hope his Symposium， aristotle's works and other ancient I don't get the all the fuss about this work。 Popper was definitely unfair to Plato。 Plato was not a proto-totalitarian theorist and i think Plato's vision on the ideal society is more open and ambigious than Popper suggests。 Yet i also don't get what is supposed to be so great about this work。 Apart from some decent discussions （and of course the brilliant cave analogy） i didn't find it a very compelling work。 Maybe it's the translation？ I hope his Symposium， aristotle's works and other ancient stuff is more inspiring because， for now， im not terribly impressed with greek philosophy。 。。。more

Arnold Julian Pentagram ，

good didnt finish

Lari ，

Dense reading， but very interesting。 A lot of ideas that I had read before in later works， so particularly fascinating reading them in their original context。

Lucy ，

Though I don't agree with a lot of what Plato says， his logic is sound and I would say that this is a good book to read （though not if you're going to take everything he says as truth）。 Though I don't agree with a lot of what Plato says， his logic is sound and I would say that this is a good book to read （though not if you're going to take everything he says as truth）。 。。。more

Trémon ，

Plato's philosophic themes touch on many aspects of life besides government。 If you've considered the mysteries of life at all Plato touches on most of them。 Refreshing to see the musings of humans haven't changed in 2400 years or so。 Plato's philosophic themes touch on many aspects of life besides government。 If you've considered the mysteries of life at all Plato touches on most of them。 Refreshing to see the musings of humans haven't changed in 2400 years or so。 。。。more

Ethan Berman ，

It is worth noting that so many readers of Plato's Republic find the source code of their greatest perceived political enemies within the pages。 Perhaps as a grave reflection of the times， many see this as a reason to reject Plato's work outright， failing to engage in some of the most influential and enduring concepts。 All potential or lapsed readers should note that the work is written as a dialogue， engage with the ideas in whatever way is most enjoyable。 The Republic can be enjoyed completely It is worth noting that so many readers of Plato's Republic find the source code of their greatest perceived political enemies within the pages。 Perhaps as a grave reflection of the times， many see this as a reason to reject Plato's work outright， failing to engage in some of the most influential and enduring concepts。 All potential or lapsed readers should note that the work is written as a dialogue， engage with the ideas in whatever way is most enjoyable。 The Republic can be enjoyed completely separate from the objective set out by Socrates， I personally found great pleasure in decoding the historical references and cosmological concepts， as well as referring to almost untranslatable Greek words in-depth。 Flipping through footnotes and referenced readings serves as a journey through all of Western thought， making this both a great starting， or restarting point should anybody want to jump into philosophical canon。The work begins and ends with sections that actually possess artistic value。 The foreshadowing of Socrates' eventual captivity and demise， as well as the several debates with aptly named or situated characters are actually rather compelling to read。 Later sections infamously drop any belligerent dialogue directed at Socrates， but this is replaced with genuinely compelling ideas， all advancing arguments towards Idealism， and opening up an infinitude of questions regarding morality， ethics， and reality altogether。 Simultaneously， anyone familiar with the Christian faith will see the deep influence some of these concepts have had。 In Thomas Jefferson and John Adams' late-life correspondence， they both discuss Plato's work， expressing great disgust and horror in what they've read。 Products of the Enlightenment and the intellectual lifeblood of 1776 （although notably not 1789，） these towering figures in American history had actually achieved the founding of a new Republic。 Plato's clear disregard for private property and families in favor of a utopian proposal left Jefferson hilariously sick to his stomach， and left Adams in a state of great appreciation for Cicero， the Romans， and the Enlightenment liberal thinkers that he instead drew inspiration from。 Surely time will tell if the modern Republics that stand today last as long as the ancient cities， or if their fate was correctly predicted by Plato in Book IX so many years ago。 Political philosophy is rapidly going to have to return to first principles to have any hope of solving the issues of the near future， issues that our current limited frameworks fail to solve。 In this endeavor， beginning by engaging with Plato and taking to heart his insistence on aiming for the truth， the good， and the pursuit of knowledge， is definitely not a bad place to begin。 After all， Plato's Socrates admits that the entire dialogue is truly about perfecting the self。 This important piece， woefully left out of so many discussions of Plato's work， probably explains more about our current situation than we'd like to admit。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Republic

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Republic&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Republic&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0