Plato’s Republic

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Plato’s Republic

In his central work, Plato covers all aspects of the life of the public man. Written in the form of Socratic dialogues – ideas and arguments unfolding as two characters discuss it using the logic of Socratic argumentation – Plato’s Republic touches upon problems of justice and of the just city-state, of character and order, of good government and bad government, of life and death – in short, everything that is of importance in the life of the Republic and the individual.

Plato’s Republic comprises 10 books that discuss all forms of government, from democracy and tyranny to oligarchy and timocracy, while also discussing problems of education for the youth and the justice that the older and the middle generation should have part of. The best form of ruling according to Plato is obviously the rule of the philosophers – those who receive the highest level of education and are able to make judgments based on fairness. The introduction and the conclusion of the book provide the perfect framework of the discussions in the middle: the question raised in the beginning – whether justice is better than injustice – finds an adequate answer in the end: justice is preferable to injustice. The conclusion is followed by one more summary, the epilogue, which elaborates the public opinions about justice and dwells a little on the concept of the immortal soul as well.

This timeless classic continues to inspire and influence readers of all types today – not only the trained philosopher – the book having a lot to say about what life should be like in our times, too.

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