Introduction
Possibly the best known of Plato's Socratic dialogues, The Republic (c. 375 B.C.) concerns the nature and end of justice, the order and character of the just city-state, and the just person. It has proven to be one of the world’s most influential works of philosophy and political theory, both intellectually and historically. Martin Luther King Jr. nominated The Republic as the one book he would have taken to a desert island, along with the Bible. The themes and allegories explored in the text continue to shape the Western cultural imagination to this day.
Recommended Reading
Plato, The Republic, (Hackett Classics), trans. by G.M.A. Grube, Hackett Publishing Company, 1992.
To download a short excerpt, please click on the link below:
Recommended Reading
Plato, The Republic, (Hackett Classics), trans. by G.M.A. Grube, Hackett Publishing Company, 1992.
To download a short excerpt, please click on the link below:

fypa4republic.pdf | |
File Size: | 40 kb |
File Type: |
We recommend splitting your study (and reading!) of this slightly longer and more complex text into two weeks. The lectures for both weeks can be found below:
Part one:
Part one:
Part two:
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
Was Plato’s intention to provide a blueprint for an ideal society, or is something more subtle going on in The Republic?
Do you agree with Socrates' idea of what makes a soul just? Why or why not?
Do you think that justice is an end in itself? Why or why not?
Do you agree with Socrates' idea of what makes a soul just? Why or why not?
Do you think that justice is an end in itself? Why or why not?
“This at any rate is my advice, that we should believe the soul to be immortal, capable of enduring all evil and all good, and always keep our feet on the upward way and pursue justice and wisdom. So we shall be at peace with God and with ourselves, both in our life here and when, like the victors in the games collecting their prizes, we receive our reward, and both in this life and in the thousand-year journey which I have described all will be well with us.”