The Republic (Penguin Classics)

Written over 2300 years ago, this cornerstone of political philosophy retains an astonishing degree of relevancy and applicability to the modern world. The prose takes the form of a friendly debate (with occasional humorous excursions into antagonism when Thrasymachus takes offense a few times) between four or five men, ostensibly on elucidating the nature of justice. Well, besides discussing justice, Plato launches into a description of his ideal state along with a somewhat comprehensive analysis of the various forms of government known to the ancient Greeks: the Spartan timarchy, oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny. I found these sections of the work to be lucid and educational.

In addition, Plato lays the groundwork for his philosophy of the "forms", which are fleshed out in some of his later works. This bit gets heavy and at times incomprehensible; I skimmed some of it.

There are certain assumptions that Socrates (the primary mouthpiece in The Republic) makes that I suppose were taken for granted to the ancient Greeks, such as how weather was assumed to be at the whim of the gods or the importance of animal sacrifice. These assumptions are used to further some logical arguments and arrive at a conclusion, which of course wouldn't pass muster today.

Overall, a very readable and well-written treatise that serves the secondary purpose of proving to the layman how advanced the ancient Greek world was in its thinking.

Plato's Republic is a challenging and exciting book, the first title on the Columbia College Contemporary Civilization Reading List. I've often heard that much of Western thought is a footnote to Plato and Aristotle. By reading this full work, the reader, even if otherwise unfamiliar with these giants, will start to see why Plato is important. While challenging in content, it's a fun read because the manner of speaking is often ironic and informal, as if the men are enjoying an after dinner discussion while downing a few brandies.

In the translator's preface, we find out that this book, as a "dialogue", is recounted by Plato as a conversation between Socrates and others, and not simply as a report by Plato of what Socrates told him. The reader sees that what is seemingly obvious is really a millennia-old strategy developed for readability. This information serves more than to inform technically, by reminding the reader of the good luck to have this record, despite time's passage which has lost many classical works.

In the introduction, we learn of Plato's family background and early life: his familiarity with local politics, and his distaste for the political life partly due to the execution in 399 BCE of his mentor, Socrates. This background helps frame and inspire the philosophical quest of The Republic, to find out and explain how one should live in order to be happy. Particularly, Socrates investigates whether it is better to be "just," or to gain the advantages of being immoral while also taking advantage of a reputation for being moral. Sections of the introduction that outline the Republic's thesis, and that summarize Plato's ideas (e.g., of forms) provide general knowledge and also help guide us through the text's often indirect arguments.

Much of the discussion between Socrates and the others, usually Plato's brothers, is about a "kallipolis," or beautiful city. This is a city-state that would be ruled, protected, and supported, by the best-suited individuals, in both native ability and training: gold, silver, and bronze. Readers will vary in their agreement with Plato's ideas (e.g., infanticide of the unfit, and telling only favorable stories about the gods) and assumptions, such as the superiority of homogeneity over variety. I found my enjoyment of these points to be as much in the manner of speaking between the men - irony and sarcasm among lofty topics - as on finding convincing or insightful arguments, though these are also made. The modern reader may too easily be tempted to smugness, and then remember more recent superstitions supporting religious, racial, and gender bias.

The men discuss ideas that have shone through the ages, and are worth our reflection in daily life. For example, in Book 2, imagine that there are different kinds of lies, some useful and essentially good, and some evil. Are we ever misled for our own good? For the support of a war to protect national interests that we may otherwise not accept, or so we have confidence in our large financial institutions? Plato envisioned situations like these and identified them as merely lies in words, and thus not as evil. Lies that are evil are "true lies" that can lead someone truly away from goodness. As another example, in Book 7, the men consider whether it is ever too soon for a person to learn argumentation because without wisdom, he will become attached to disputation. In this respect, do we ever win only for the sake of winning, regardless of the truth of our contention?

Or, have you ever asked anyone if they've lived in a cave, such as a cave of ignorance? Remembering your first job, and feeling the need to get along with a social clique, was it ever necessary to understand the views of those who saw only shadows against a wall? It's all here, in Book 7, dramatized, including the initial ache of discovery and the criticism by the cave-dwellers of those who have escaped seeing only the shadows.

And what about the "body politic"? Is this just a convenient media phrase? Books 8 and 9 discuss various forms of government - e.g., oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny - and how they evolve from one to the other. They describe the sort of individual that embodies each of them. So, while perhaps a cute metaphor, it is one that originated among the ancients.

This edition contains other sections: a select bibliography, a synopsis for each of the ten books, a glossary of terms, a glossary and index of names, and a general index. The many footnotes provide either explanation (e.g., a reference to another classical work) or a text reference as identified in the column. In addition to the drama of the ideas, and the privilege of learning at the knee of a giant, there is a lot of help here for the ambitious reader.

Plato's Republic is of course one of the foundational texts of Western philosophy. It is a dialogue between Socrates and several interlocutors concerning, broadly speaking, the ideal city. Beginning with a discussion of the nature of justice, the dialogue turns into a thought experiment where Socrates builds the ideal city from the ground up. What are the basic needs of the people? Given these basic needs, what kinds of jobs will people in the city have? Given these jobs, what other jobs will citizens have? What kind of protection do the citizens need? How do we ensure that the next generation is adequately prepared for whatever we decide they will need in the future? etc. During the discussion, we see many of the ideas that Plato is known for, such as his theory of the forms via the allegory of the cave. This book is required reading for anyone who wishes to consider himself an educated human being. The ideas in this text have been commented on, expounded upon, refuted, defended, or extended by every philosopher who is worth studying. In particular, as an Aristotelian-Thomist, understanding Plato's views is essential to place in context his student's views.

Although the book as a whole is excellent, there are nevertheless some grave errors. Less well known about Plato is the fact that there are some extremely disturbing ideas put forth in Book V. These ideas include an acceptance of infanticide and "breeding" the best possible humans, the later of which being justified in order to "make marriage as sacred as possible." Some would also argue that the city Plato allocates for is quite socialist or even communist. I do not know much about these systems, and I cannot comment on it other than to say that from what little I know and my reading of the text, such claims do not seem to me to be unjustified.

I don't know much about different translations, but I can certainly say that this particular translation was easy to read. Each Book contained a few paragraphs introducing the main ideas that are found in the Book. The footnotes are plentiful but not overwhelming. They mostly give a citation for a quote, which more often than not is from Homer's Iliad or Odyssey. It should be noted that unlike some Platonic dialogues (and possibly some translations of The Republic), the author has chosen to NOT include the names of who is speaking (presumably this is more true to the original Greek). This can sometimes be a bit annoying if you don't keep careful track of who is speaking.

Grube's version is a readable and helpful translation of The Republic. I would recommend this version to anyone who hasn't read The Republic yet.

Needed this book for my philosophy class, and it's actually much more interesting than I thought it would be. Of course some parts are pretty boring, but that's with any book. Highly recommend, especially if you enjoy books that make you think much deeper than you normally would!!

What a wonderful display of the Socratic Method. This book was a joy to read, if just for an intellectual exercise. I really enjoyed when the characters begin to discuss the political life span of a nation. I think that most people would be shocked to read this section, then look at the political landscape in America today.

The Republic, by Plato, is a very thoughtful and explorative writing about the perfect state, the role of justice in it, and how it could be materialized. Plato explores how a state should function, in terms of justice, and he discusses what justice is, how it governs human actions, and why it is so important.
The society, according to him, has 3 classes, workers, warriors, and rulers, who must all coexist and work together. They are governed by appetite, spirit(honor), and thought, respectively. Someone who is governed by one thing, say appetite, but holds a position that should be governed by another idea(say ruler), becomes a bad thing for society, in this case a tyrant. Who should hold each postitions, how they should be trained, and what types of things should be allowed in the society, and in their lives are all discussed by Plato, but he does come to the conclusion, that although money can satisfy the appetite, it cannot satisfy the mind, and thought and understanding brings true happiness, and justice brings true good. Education should ensure that good rules the minds of society, for great knowlege combined with evil intentions causes trouble. The world inself has a visible and mental form, and Thinkers and Philosophers are those who access most the mental world. Justice however, is inherently good, and brings the most true good to a society.
Plato's analysis of the state is quite a profound and interesting one, and this book is a simple translation to read and understand and is recommendable to anyone. It is truly a must read, especially in greek literature, as Plato is one of the great thinkers of all time.

The five stars are for Plato, who devoted his life to open dialogue (in his literary for form as well as in the substance of the work) in the pursuit of a deeper understanding of the great questions of life and of how one ought to live it.

The question of what is justice is literally centuries old. It is nice to see what the ancients thought about these issues. The translation made the book easier to understand which was important for me being in a political theory class.

The Bloom translation came out when I was a student at St. John's, where Joe Sachs later taught (we never overlapped). From here on out, I was always look for his translation when reading the ancient Greek classics. Well done!

Some reviewers have said that this book has inadequate navigation tools. If you have to read and analyze it for a class this may be true. I read it for my own enjoyment and had no issue with the table of contents or any other part of the book.

Some reviewers have said that this book has inadequate navigation tools. If you have to read and analyze it for a class this may be true. I read it for my own enjoyment and had no issue with the table of contents or any other part of the book.

I understand this is a timeless,epic,classic piece of literature. I don't dispute that. My issue is I tried to read it(kindle version) and half the text is not on the screen. Who was responsible for making sure that this was ready for digital form? They should be laid off with no severance pay. I should be refunded. I'm gonna have to go buy a paper version.