Fewer people than you may think have read or even heard of the allegory of the cave. Platos republic audiobook the great courses, david. The republic is also discussed as a utopia, presenting an extreme vision of a poliskallipolisplatos ideal city. In book two, socrates, thrasymachus and adeimantus decide to focus on a. To improve your understanding of platos allegory, we have included original commentary surrounding this subject. Plato, the great philosopher of athens, was born in 427 bce. It is platos bestknown work, and has proven to be one of the worlds most influential works of philosophy and political theory, both intellectually and historically. The introduction 54k book i 99k book ii 92k book iii 109k book iv 93k book v 112k book vi 95k book vii 92k book viii 92k book ix 76k. Platos teacher, socrates, had been forced to commit suicide after being condemned of using philosophy to attack the political interests of his day for background. What do we want out of a theory of justice, anyway. For the transition here to the digression of books v.
Purchase a copy of this text not necessarily the same edition from. Start your 48hour free trial to unlock this platos republic study guide and get instant. Cooper is henry putnam university professor of philosophy. He continues in the rest of this book by further elaborating upon the curriculum which a wouldbe philosopherking must study. The annenberg cpbproject provided support for entering this text. Lecture 4 introduces platos republic and its many meanings in the context of moral psychology, justice, the power of poetry and myth, and metaphysics. Would plato agree with the practices of eugenics and genetic engineering. Socrates says despite thrasymachus s view, the goal of the city is not to make one group happy at the. Platos dialogue, the republic, book 2 ethics and moral theory duration. What disappointed you about masters of greek thought. No book has influenced my life more than platos republic.
Having identified the just city and the just soul, socrates now wants to identify four other constitutions of city and soul, all of which are vicious to varying degrees. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the republic, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. What other book might you compare platos republic to and why. Assuming plato is a skillful dramatist and that there is purpose to every detail, what is the significance of this opening. Platos republic lecturer excellent overview of platos republic, i would recommend it to anyone wanting to get a really good overview of platos republic.
This is also considered to be the first book on political. Platos dialogue, the republic, book 1 introduction to. It took me a long time to read because i was taking notes along the way, otherwise i think it wouldve gone quicker. As he is about to list them, polemarchus and adeimantus interrupt. Socrates glaucon adeimantus such is the good and true city or state. Reviewed by matthew maher, senior lecturer, metropolitan state university of denver on 3420. Fewer still have read or heard of platos the republic. One of platos most famous works, which can be attributed to the lessons he learned from socrates, was the republic. I own and am comparing the bloom, the grube, and this loeb editions of platos republic, and although each has merits, with the bloom reading smoothly and with the rhythms of colloquial english, and the grube being perhaps less skewed towards the translators own biasesbloom being wellknown as conservativethe loeb edition seems to me the allaround first choice.
The intelligent troglodytes guide to platos republic. Thus, socrates concludes, the city described must be good, and all others evil with respect to both the administration of the city and the organization and character of the human soul. Platos the republic is an enduring work, discussing justice, the importance of education, and the qualities needed for rulers to succeed. But plato never combined his economic ideas into a system, and never seems to have recognized that trade is one of the great motive powers of the state and of the world. Can we assure ourselves that these practices will continually produce the best of the best. In the dialogue, socrates talks with various athenians and foreigners about the meaning of justice and whether the just man is happier than the unjust man. The republic is a socratic dialogue, authored by plato around 375 bc, concerning justice, the order and character of the just citystate, and the just man. Course hero literature instructor russell jaffe provides an indepth summary and analysis of book 5 of platos philosophical text the republic.
Plato felt governors must be philosophers so they may govern wisely and effectively. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Plato begins the republic with the line i went down to the piraeus. Introduction to political philosophy plsc 114 lecture 4 introduces plato s republic and its many meanings in the context of moral psychology, justice, the power of poetry and myth, and metaphysics. This information is intended to give you a fuller understanding of the allegory. The last subject, and also the origin of retail trade, is treated with admirable lucidity in the second book of the republic. In its path are 5 people who have been tied to the track by a mad philosopher. I am a novice, cant help you much what about professor david roochniks performance did you like. Plato founded a school of philosophy known as the academy.
The republic, book i plato page 3 of 37 is a question which i should like to ask of you who have arrived at that time which the poets call the threshold of old age is. Ready to call it a night, theyre intercepted by a whole gang of their acquaintances, who eventually convince them to come hang out at polemarchuss house and have a nice, long chat. They say that socrates is trying to fool them by not speaking of childrearing. The intelligent troglodytes guide to platos republic is designed as a supplementary readers guide to understanding and interpreting platos republic. Annas, an introduction to platos republic a bit dated, but still of interest. Platos the republic explained with book summaries in just a few minutes. Its the basis of political filosophy and one of the best books known to men. Thinking about the republic as plato wrestling with what his teacher might have said to save his brother adds a. Plato, republic, book 5, page 462 tufts university. The book is the record of a dialogue between socrates and several other athenians about the. Rated 5 out of 5 by marcello from lectures on plato s republic i bought this last month and listened to one lecture every day on my commute to work. Plato attempts to answer such questions by noting a major. The best of the 5 that i listened to so far what other book might you compare platos republic to and why.
The apology, phaedo and crito of plato, the golden sayings of epictetus, the meditations of marcus aurelius. I have only read platos republic and it was years ago but this audiobook reminded me of how socrates has so thoroughly shaped the philosophy i follow. I was aware but not at all knowledgeable about plato, his work or most of the early greeks but now i am a bit more informed as a result. Most of his works are written dialogues, many with socrates as the main character. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. His line of thought raises questions such as, how do you know whether your most deeplyheld beliefs are valid or simply the result of your upbringing, culture, environment, and religion. It is known as a socratic dialogue and is perhaps one of platos best known works. Adeimantus says the guardians simple lifestyle wont make them happy, given the luxuries enjoyed by rulers elsewhere. Essays and criticism on platos platos republic critical essays. Course hero literature instructor russell jaffe provides an indepth. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the republic and what it means. In reading both book v of platos republic and book i of aristotles politics, there is a noticeable difference in the ideal role of women within each philosophers view. Buy the republic penguin classics 3rd by plato, melissa lane, h.
Education and platos parable of the cave peter losin program officer, national endowment for the humanities lecturer, university of maryland, college park platos image of the cave in republic book vii is offered as an analogy for the human condition for our education or lack of it. Chapter 1 introduction part 2 book i chapter 3 study questions part 4 book ii chapter 5 study questions part 6 book iii chapter 7 study questions part 8 book iv chapter 9 study questions part 10 book v chapter 11 study questions part 12 book vi chapter study questions part 14 book vii chapter 15. Platos lie in the soul ancient history encyclopedia. Platos republic audiobook by the great courses, david. The republic is platos bestknown treatise and has been shown over time to be one of the most influential works of philosophy and theory of politics that has ever been written. To therejectionof imitativepoetry,whichcertainlyought not to be received. Socrates now proposes to argue several examples of injustice in order further to elucidate the concept of justice. Platos republic book 6 the divided line, truth, and the faculties philosophy core concepts duration. That this is the consciously intended meaning may be inferred from the fact that in timaeus 37 e, where plato must have had in mind the conclusions of the sophist, he still avails himself of this ambiguity to suggest an absolute being behind phenomena. Differences in the book v of platos republic and book 1 of aristotles politics. The internet classics archive the republic by plato. Plato extended socratess inquiries to his students, one of the most famous being aristotle. The republic has been divided into the following sections.
1169 424 1441 436 1194 270 636 669 494 1452 1527 541 176 1364 119 1014 115 1089 1353 363 1207 1140 738 208 1097 583 436 607 1029 941 890 557 334 155 677 1086 190 253 622 1382