The Republic

Talks about the nature of "justice" and the styles and purposes of law and government. We are introduced to Socrates and a whole host of interesting characters. A great read for anyone who is interested in the foundations of western political philosophy.

I admidt that I have not read the entire book- only the parts that were assigned in Phil I and Various Government and Political Theory classes. The parts I read were brilliant though. I once was at a party hosted by myself and some new roommates in NY. The roommates were aspiring actresses recently graduated from Syracuse, and so were their guests. One of the guests- a guy, went on to...more

I admidt that I have not read the entire book- only the parts that were assigned in Phil I and Various Government and Political Theory classes. The parts I read were brilliant though. I once was at a party hosted by myself and some new roommates in NY. The roommates were aspiring actresses recently graduated from Syracuse, and so were their guests. One of the guests- a guy, went on to tell us how whilst meditating with a candle, he came up with the cave analogy. My guests were all New School GPIAs- and knew the cave analogies true origins, and I called him on it by saying- you mean its just like Plato's cave analogy. He fumbled- and then came up with, I have not read it, so I must be some kind of genius for coming to the same conclusion on my own. Now- I view that as an early indication that I should not have been living with the roommates, as the company they kept was not jiving with either myself or my company.   hide

This is, in my opinion, the best and most readable translation of the Republic out there. If you're looking to read it, I highly recommend this edition.

One is not complete without having read this book.