The Republic and Other Dialogues

by Plato

Plato is acknowledged as one of the greatest philosophers of classical Greece, and the thirty-six dialogues that are credited to him helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy. The Republic and Other Dialogues collects seven of Plato's best-known works in Benjamin Jowett's classic translation.

In "The Republic," Plato's teacher, Socrates, discusses the character of the just city-state and its citizens. "Symposium" and "Phaedrus" explore the nature and meaning of love. "Euthyphro," "Apology," "Crito," and "Paedo" chronicle the trial, sentencing, and execution of Socrates for his perceived crimes against the state.

The Republic and Other Dialogues is one of Barnes & Noble's leatherbound classics. Each volume features authoritative texts by the world's greatest authors in an exquisitely designed bonded-leather binding, with distinctive gilt edging and an attractive silk-ribbon bookmark. Decorative, durable, and collectible, these books offer hours of pleasure to readers young and old and are an indispensible cornerstone for every home library.

Genres: Philosophy, Classics, Nonfiction

743 pages, Leather Bound

First published October 9, 2013

About the author

Plato (Greek: Πλάτων), born Aristocles (c. 427 – 348 BC), was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. He raised problems for what became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Platonic Academy, a philosophical school in Athens where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known as Platonism.
Plato's most famous contribution is the theory of forms (or ideas), which has been interpreted as advancing a solution to what is now known as the problem of universals. He was decisively influenced by the pre-Socratic thinkers Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself.
Along with his teacher Socrates, and Aristotle, his student, Plato is a central figure in the history of philosophy. Plato's entire body of work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years—unlike that of nearly all of his contemporaries. Although their popularity has fluctuated, they have consistently been read and studied through the ages. Through Neoplatonism, he also greatly influenced both Christian and Islamic philosophy. In modern times, Alfred North Whitehead famously said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato."

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a difficult book to review. The dialogues themselves were wonderful and I would highly recommend reading them (5 stars), however the ‘Notes/Introductions’ written by Benjamin Jowett were very dated in both style and content (biases). In addition to being far too long, the language was unnecessarily convoluted. My suggestion would be that if you do choose to read this beautifully bound version of Plato’s dialogues, that you skip or skim read Jowett’s contributions and just jump straight into the actual texts. My second suggestion is that you have someone to discuss Plato’s ideas with. In this way you will find his writing much more rewarding and enriching.

This version of the dialogues are organised almost chronologically, depicting the life and eventual death of Plato’s mentor, Socrates.

The Republic: This first dialogue is divided into ten ‘books’.
1. Just/unjust and justice/injustice
2. The formation of the State
3. Censorship and the classes within the state
4. The virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance and justice
5. Women and children; Knowledge versus opinion
6. Philosophy and philosophers; The notion of good
7. Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, Pythagoras
8. Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy and Tyranny; Nature of States and individuals (My favourite of the books! Reflective of current times and sadly prophetic)
9. Three parts of man- wisdom, honor, gain; Pleasure and pain
10. Poets (in particular Homer); makers versus imitators; just/unjust souls and judgment/retribution (This book was beautifully written!)

Overall I found ‘The Republic’ to be an exploration of whether it is possible to be a ‘good’ person when it seems ‘injustice’ does in fact pay and being ‘just’ does not. At times Plato’s dialogues were repetitive and confusing, but always insightful and thought-provoking.

Symposium: This is my absolute favourite dialogue! A party with a group of men sitting around taking turns to ‘praise love’ from their own perspective. Later an unexpected visitor arrives and proceeds to ‘praise’ Socrates. It was quite easy to read and very entertaining.

Phaedrus: This concerns a discussion between Socrates and Phaedrus which is essentially a continuation of the ‘love’ dialogue. This centers around a comparison of lovers and non-lovers, then onto ‘rhetoric’ and how to compose a speech, “the niceties of the art”. Phaedrus reads a speech about love by Lysias then Socrates gives his own speech and then another better one to illustrate his argument.

Euthyphro: Socrates has been indicted for corrupting the youth of Athens and Euthyphro has brought a charge of murder against his own father. As they wait at the court, they discuss the meaning of ‘piety’.

Apology: I loved this dialogue. Socrates presents his defense against the charge of corrupting the youth of Athens, “the unexamined life is not worth living”. I found this very eloquent with shades of both light and dark. A beautiful piece of writing.

Crito: This dialogue is relatively short and easy to read, but nevertheless, thought-provoking. It is probably one of my favourites of all the dialogues. Socrates’ friend Crito comes to his cell to try to persuade him to escape before his execution. Socrates explains that given his life-long love of Athens and of her laws it would be hypercritical of him to run away and ignore the judgment made of him.

Phaedo: This dialogue centers around Socrates’ last night before his execution. His friends come to be with him and they chat about death, the soul and immortality. This is achieved through a series of arguments centered around opposites and at times mathematics. I found the first half a bit confusing at times. The second half was very poetic. Socrates provides a detailed description of the ‘other world’, followed by a beautifully moving description of his death surrounded by his friends. I found it was a fitting and satisfying end to a wonderful piece of literature.

[Sambit Dash · Rating 4 out of 5]

The review can be seen here.

[Amir Ab Rahman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apology: 4 stars. When Socrates said he should be punished by getting free meals at Prytaneum. Gangster.
Crito: 3 stars. He's refusing rescue for his personal integrity is great, but it feels defeatist.
Phaedo: 2 stars. It goes on and on to prove existence of something via reasons / dialog only. Gets preachy towards the end. The bit on paying debt of rooster to Asclepius is gangster though.
The Republic: 4 stars. The concept of justice is well explained, in both state and person. While idea might be dated, but it was well explored and thought provoking.

[Raja · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting to be blown away by the force of arguments presented in this book, which turned out to be a good thing because I wasn't. The Republic and Other Dialogues can be read out of interest in classics but not if you are looking for a new way of thinking to sink your teeth into. This isn't to say the book is of no interest at all – it can be fascinating in patches – but return is rather poor for effort invested. The Republic is a lot more interesting than the Other Dialogues, but if this was my introduction to philosophy I doubt if I would have wanted to pursue the relationship.