Book description
Plato's Republic is widely acknowledged as the cornerstone of Western
philosophy. Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and
three different interlocutors, it is an enquiry into the notion of a
perfect community and the ideal individual within it. During the
conversation other questions are raised: what is goodness; what is
reality; what is knowledge? The Republic also addresses the purpose of
education and the role of both women and men as 'guardians' of the
people. With remarkable lucidity and deft use of allegory, Plato arrives
at a depiction of a state bound by harmony and ruled by 'philosopher
kings'.
Plato (c. 427-347 BC) stands with Socrates and Aristotle as one of
the shapers of the whole intellectual tradition of the West. He
founded in Athens the Academy, the first permanent institution devoted
to philosophical research and teaching, and theprototype of all
Western universities. Desmond Lee was a fellow and tutor of Classics
at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and later became President of St
Hughes Hall, Cambridge.
Melissa Lane received her PhD in Philosophy from Cambridge
University. She teaches the history of political thought and political
philosophy in the History Faculty at Cambridge University, and is a
Fellow of King's College. Her books include Method and Politics in
Plato's Statesman (Cambridge, 1998) and Plato's Progeny: how
Plato and Socrates still captivate the modern mind (Duckworth, 2001).
