Plato's Republic: Justice, the Tripartite Soul, and the Philosopher-King
The Republic (Greek Politeia, Latin Res publica) is the longest and most influential work of Plato (c. 428/427–348/347 BCE) and, by broad consensus, one of the founding texts of Western political philosophy, ethics, and the philosophy of education. Probably composed around 375 BCE, in what is conventionally called Plato’s middle period, it is presented as a dialogue narrated by Socrates in the first person, recounting a conversation held at the house of Cephalus in the Piraeus. The question that drives the book can be put simply: what is justice, and why is it better to live justly than unjustly? To answer it, Plato builds in words an ideal city and, in parallel, a theory of the soul, a theory of knowledge, and a theory of education. ...