République: Livre VII

by Bernard Piettre, Platón, Denis Huisman (Series Editor)

Une oeuvre philosophique complétée par des notes et enrichie par un commentaire méthodique pour une initiation à la compréhension des grands concepts et des grands auteurs de la philosophie. Une collection complète

Plus de trente titres répartis sur quatre périodes :


Antiquité
Moyen Age et Renaissance (Ve - XVIe s.)
Période moderne (XVIIe - XIX s.)
Période contemporaine (XXe s.)
Les auteurs et les textes essentiels



Un concept pédagogique efficace

Une oeuvre commentée par un spécialiste

Un dossier autour de l'oeuvre


Biographie de l'auteur
Mise en perspective historique
Résumé-guide de lecture
Un dossier pédagogique


Problématiques essentielles
Etude des concepts-clés
Les grandes thèses
Recueil de textes critiques sur l'oeuvre

Genres: Philosophy, Read For School

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Scott Meadows]

This is definitely one of my top 10 philosophical books of all time. It contains the classic ethos of Plato's Cave, theory of education, and anti-mechanistic pursuit of ends in goodness, truth, and beauty beyond the realm of becoming.

Read for Anselm House 2026 Fellowship.

[Steph Cook]

It’s always such a pleasure to stumble across a piece of philosophy that almost immediately shifts the trajectory of your path. I think I will look back on Plato’s allegory of the cave as being one such philosophy.

[busé]

(introduction to literary theory)

[Manish Mattawar]

A Short but Powerful Glimpse into Plato’s Vision

The Republic (Book 7) is a brief but meaningful introduction to one of philosophy’s most enduring ideas—the Allegory of the Cave. Even though I initially thought I was picking up the full text, this focused section turned out to be worthwhile in its own right. The dialogue, centered around Socrates’ exploration of knowledge, perception, and justice, still feels remarkably relevant today.

The allegory itself remains one of the most compelling metaphors for human understanding—how we mistake shadows for reality and resist uncomfortable truths. While this was only a small slice of Plato’s broader work, it was an engaging and thought-provoking read. Definitely a reminder that I need to return and explore the entire Republic in full.

[Berend Vendel]

Visionary, but too static

[Christie]

it's never that serious

[Atles]

sympa, sans grande revelation, on y apprend le rôle des philosophes dans la république et la manière dont ils doivent être éduqué.

[★⋆★⋆★ Liv ★⋆★⋆★]

I had to read this for a class. It’s a philosophical classic, but like most in this genre it’s extremely wordy and unnecessarily difficult to understand.

[Ramona Fisher]

Books VI and VII contain the crux of Plato’s view of knowledge. He uses the metaphors of the sun, the divided line, and the cave to explain his views. Plato has a dualistic view of the world: the physical realm and then the intelligent/ideal realm. In the example of the cave, the prisoners view the shadows on the wall as real. With the fire giving light and the gaze only in one direction, the prisoners assume the shadows on the wall are reality. The goal of a philosopher is to break those metaphorical chains and move from ignorance to knowledge. What one sees in the physical world is an imperfect form of the real thing. The real thing resides in the intelligent realm. Plato understands that absolute goodness is the ideal form that allows one’s intelligence to distinguish knowledge and truth.