The Republic and Other Works

This review is for only The RepublicI should have read this book 20 years ago.It is a dialog on gov’t and justice, but it covers much more ground. There are several juicy things to ponder. I am struck by the cycles through the systems of gov’t. Where is the United States (and the world) in this cycle? Is it possible to have a true Republic that advances individual Liberty! across the ages? What is required from citizens to achieve this?Socrates’ allegory of the cave is also instructive. My take, it is important to understand someone else’s experience and thinking. They may NOT be able to see what you see.Clear definitions are powerful and vital to discussion. Consensus can only happen when definitions are set and then agreed upon – proven by this narrative.What is the place of imitators in society? How much should (ancient Greeks) depend upon poets like Homer? How does immortality of the soul affect society and justice? Take your time reading Book X.Breakthrough thinking of Ancient Greece is still active today. Socrates, thank you for accepting the invitation to hang out one evening with some prominent citizens of Athens… says this fly on the wall.

I ordered this for my sister as a B-Day gift. She asked me for it. Not sure if she's read it yet, but I'm sure she will like it.

Great read for anyone studying political theory or philosophy. I recommend reading The Apology first, then The Republic itself. Both are in the book.

all is good.

Here is an essential compilation of works from the philosopher Emerson hailed as the "Euclid of holiness". Along with the full 'Death of Socrates' tetralogy (including the "Euthyphro", whose argument on the nature of piety gets to the heart of why Christianity is not, as Nietzsche suggests, 'Platonism for the masses') this Doubleday edition also includes the esoteric late-phase "Parmenides" and of course the "Symposium" and "Republic", all in Jowett's long-standard translations. Reading the "Republic" in full, one can savor the loftiness of Plato's vision of human nobility, a merging of aesthetic and ethical criteria which still accounts, more than anything else, for our conception of the transcendent quality of ancient Athens (again, contra Nietzsche and "The Birth of Tragedy"). While the communitarian (and perhaps totalitarian) aspects of Plato's political vision may or may not be ironic, the deepest wellspring of Plato's utopia can best be found in the formula "beautiful minds in beautiful bodies" which he has bequeathed to us as a supreme ideal in love and education. Throughout, it is Plato's obsessive consideration of ethical ideals-- and the rationalist metaphysics in which he grounds ethical imperatives-- that galvanizes the reader to ponder the reconstruction of self and society in the light of higher truths. And his (deliberately undwelt-upon, if we can accept Letter VII) hints of the mystical, which have haunted the Western imagination ever since, make Platonism perhaps the most essential, most truly global, spiritual tradition in history. It is one which encompasses the sensual as well as the intellectual, the worldly and the other-worldly, and it accepts and encourages the freeplay of skepticism; as one can see in reading these works, Plato is usually his own best critic.

I needed this book for a college class and when I received it it was bent really badly. The book was still readable but I'm not happy that its bent. If your not picky about the condition of your books then I suggest using Amazon. The free shipping is worth it but be ready to take the chance of getting a messed up book too.

I feel that the Jowett translation is superior to others (especially for students) because of its easy-reading quality. As anyone who has read the Platonic dialogues is sure to know, they are often somewhat dry, with key points strewn amongst seemingly endless dialogues. This makes the fact that the Jowett translation is written in layman's terms that much more appreciated. For this, the translation earns its three stars. Otherwise, it has a horrific layout, with no numbering for reference to lines (making it hard to use for writing papers and difficult for reference in a class that uses a different translation because the page numbers most likely will not coincide). Besides this, there is no reference at the top of each page to denote who the speakers are, which is often helpful because it is easy to forget who is speaking due to the work's length and number of characters. The Bloom edition has these notes but I would not recommend this either because it is a more difficult read and has a commentary essay included that is half the length of the Republic itself. So, unless you don't mind the extra bulk when it comes to carrying it around, don't take the mention of the Bloom edition as a recommendation.

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