Republic (Hackett Classics)

I love this dialogue. It's a classic text full of wisdom. The translation of this edition is good.

Plato's Republic is of course one of the foundational texts of Western philosophy. It is a dialogue between Socrates and several interlocutors concerning, broadly speaking, the ideal city. Beginning with a discussion of the nature of justice, the dialogue turns into a thought experiment where Socrates builds the ideal city from the ground up. What are the basic needs of the people? Given these basic needs, what kinds of jobs will people in the city have? Given these jobs, what other jobs will citizens have? What kind of protection do the citizens need? How do we ensure that the next generation is adequately prepared for whatever we decide they will need in the future? etc. During the discussion, we see many of the ideas that Plato is known for, such as his theory of the forms via the allegory of the cave. This book is required reading for anyone who wishes to consider himself an educated human being. The ideas in this text have been commented on, expounded upon, refuted, defended, or extended by every philosopher who is worth studying. In particular, as an Aristotelian-Thomist, understanding Plato's views is essential to place in context his student's views.Although the book as a whole is excellent, there are nevertheless some grave errors. Less well known about Plato is the fact that there are some extremely disturbing ideas put forth in Book V. These ideas include an acceptance of infanticide and "breeding" the best possible humans, the later of which being justified in order to "make marriage as sacred as possible." Some would also argue that the city Plato allocates for is quite socialist or even communist. I do not know much about these systems, and I cannot comment on it other than to say that from what little I know and my reading of the text, such claims do not seem to me to be unjustified.I don't know much about different translations, but I can certainly say that this particular translation was easy to read. Each Book contained a few paragraphs introducing the main ideas that are found in the Book. The footnotes are plentiful but not overwhelming. They mostly give a citation for a quote, which more often than not is from Homer's Iliad or Odyssey. It should be noted that unlike some Platonic dialogues (and possibly some translations of The Republic), the author has chosen to NOT include the names of who is speaking (presumably this is more true to the original Greek). This can sometimes be a bit annoying if you don't keep careful track of who is speaking.Grube's version is a readable and helpful translation of The Republic. I would recommend this version to anyone who hasn't read The Republic yet.

Plato's Republic is quite possibly the most paradigm-shattering book I've ever read, second to the Bible. Some will even claim,"If you've gone through college and you haven't had at least an introduction to Plato, you've been cheated..." What I do know is that once you've read The Republic you can never look at the world the same again.InfluentialIt's hard to overstate its influence: Augustine, Anselm, Boethius, Justin Martyr, Eusebius, (most of the church fathers), the Puritans, Jonathan Edwards, and C.S. Lewis were all deeply and profoundly influenced by Plato. Of all the Great Works of Western Civilization that came after Plato, some might ask, "Which works were influenced by Plato?" The better question is, "Which works were not influenced by Plato?"MisunderstoodIt is a general truth that the greatest works are often the most misunderstood. The Bible is the prime example of this, but second to that is The Republic. The primary error in interpreting this colossal dialogue, as C.S. Lewis would say, is being "concerned [more with] altering our own opinions than in entering fully into the opinion of others." So it is with the The Bible, and all other great works of literature.The CaveMany people have heard of the "cave analogy", but I'll go out on a limb and claim that even if you've heard of the cave, you might not understand it to its full extent. The reason is the testimony of a person that truly understands the cave is the one that lives free from "the shadows".The ShadowsNow that we're getting into deep waters, what are "the shadows"? The shadows are those illusory "images" on the cave wall or "copies" that resemble actual objects but are not the real thing. Like a photograph they are the pixelated representation of something of "substance", but they are not the "substance" itself. They merely "suggest" or "point to" the real thing, and are, in a sense, metaphors that are "like" the objects in representation, but are not in themselves the objects, and are thus "shadows" of no real "substance".The FormsHere's where it gets heady. Plato, by use of analogy, claims that the world is, at it's essence, a "Shadow" of the "True Form". Anything physical that we can see, hear, touch, smell, or taste is a "representation" of "substance" because they all point to the "True Form".JusticeThis is where the discussion on Justice comes in. Plato wants to figure out what Justice is. So, in platonic style, he uses another set of analogies.The RepublicThe Republic is often perceived, sadly even by academics, as Plato's view of how ideal government should work, and that's all. That is true, but I'm sorry to say, that is completely missing the point. The point is that Plato's "Republic", his view of how ideal government should work, is itself an analogy for the soul. Plato could care less about an ideal government, save for the fact that he cares in so far as it will tell him about the soul.The Republic is made up of three groups of citizens: The Guardians, The Auxiliaries, and the Money-makers.They represent the three parts of the soul: The Logical, The Spirited, and The Appetitive.Justice in government, according to Plato, is when the three groups of citizens each play their proper role and no group becomes too powerful.Justice in the soul, according to Plato, is when the three parts of the soul each play their proper role and no part becomes too powerful.The Just LifeThis is where Plato shines in practice. Aside from speculating if there really are three parts to the soul, we do know, at least, that in our lives when wisdom becomes king, when honor becomes king, and especially when the appetite becomes king that is the foreground to an immoral life. If the Good Life is letting each part of the soul play its role, the Bad Life is letting one part of the soul reign over the other two. The gravest life is the one that is controlled by the appetite, and lives by impulses and, more descriptively "erotic love".FreedomOne of my favorite points of The Republic was in Plato's description of true freedom. Most, he points out, believe that the tyrant who controls everything, and thus is able to do whatever he wishes is most free. On the contrary, he argues, the tyrant is the most enslaved of them all, namely to his own, lusts, passions, and as Plato puts it, "erotic love". True freedom, as the Bible puts it, is not the ability to do whatever you want, rather it is the power to not to.ChristianityWhile Plato's Republic is undoubtedly the best philosophy book of all time, like all philosophies, it is incomplete, and Plato knew that. He longed to understand the substance of the True Forms and to get free of this world of Shadows, but he did not know "what" or better yet "who" was behind the True Forms. Not surprisingly Augustine picked up on this missing link, and realized, that Christianity, namely the Trinitarian God of the Bible was the One behind it all. All justice points to the Justice of God, all beauty points to the Beauty of God, all love points to the Love of God, all the Shadows of this world point to the true form of God. Some say heaven will be more "real" than this world, and the reason is, I think, that we will come face-to-face with the Substance behind the Shadows. It will be the difference between seeing someone's shadow and seeing them face to face, or seeing the imperfect form of beauty in the sunset, and meeting Beauty face-to-face. Imagine meeting Beauty or Goodness face to face. Like the apostle John, and the prophet Isaiah, I could only fall down flat on my face in worship. Why worship? Consider the happiness we find in all the temporal shadows of beauty, goodness, and truth, and then consider the true joy we will find in meeting Beauty, Goodness, and Truth face-to-face.

read this for university. socrates is simultaneously based and cringe. good read. gets a little dense at times but really made me think about ethics. goddamnit now i’m having thoughts.

Best translation out according to my Philosophy lecturer. Got this for a first year philosophy course - "ethics, morality, society"Sydney, Australia, August 2014.

The fact that The Republic itself is an invaluable classic work in Philosophy needs no argument. But it is available in many translations, and it's not always easy to know which one is the best one to buy, or even if it really matters. My opinion is that it does matter, and not just because certain interpretations of the text hinge on the translation of specific greek terms - general readability is also key.This work is based on the original Grube translation, widely accepted by scholars as the best interpretation to read, and has been revised by Reeve into fantastically clear, easy to read english, whether a scholar or just a casual reader. Plato's thought is crucially preserved. There is also an excellent introduction, and a concise and clear summary of each chapter at the beginning of each.Highly recommended - this is worth paying double the very reasonable price.

Cardboard box was open and the front cover had a slight bend at the corner. Dirty and sticky on the back.

I liked the prompt response to my order, and the numbering of captions in the printed version, needed for my study in a Yale University course. The numbering is not seen in the Kindle version.