The Republic

???I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.??? What is Justice? Why do men behave justly? In the ideal state, how should women, children, and property be treated in the ruling middle class? Join Socrates along with the Athenians and other interlocutors as they question, argue, and discuss their perceptions of an ideal community and combine argument and myth to commend a life organized by reason. Regarded as the culminating achievement of Plato, The Republic, in the form of a Socratic dialogue, goes on to argue that the world of everyday objects imperfectly imitates the world of Forms. It also expounds Plato???s belief that there is an ancient quarrel between poetry and philosophy and acknowledges the influence of art upon the mind. The Republic is undoubtedly one of Plato???s masterworks and one of the most influential and widely read books in the history of philosophy. With a lasting historical influence on the world culture, The Republic is inherent with the power to change the world. About the author Plato was born in one of the wealthiest and politically active families in Athens around 428 BC. He joined the circle surrounding Socrates around the age of twenty and left Athens after Socrates??? execution in 399, travelling to the Mediterranean world???teaching and learning. Plato returned to Athens sometime around 388 BC and established the first institution of higher learning in the Western world???the Academy. He laid the foundations of Western philosophy and science along with his student Aristotle, who was the other exceptional classical philosopher. Proven to be one of the most influential works of political theory and philosophy, The Republic is Plato???s best-known work. Written around 380 BC it is by far the best introduction to his thought and contains many of the most important Platonic doctrines.