What is justice? Treating others justly is good for them, but is it good for the just person? Would it be better to be unjust, provided one can get away with it? Plato’s Republic begins with these vital questions and leads readers to examining, e.g., the nature of the soul, the city, the divine, knowledge, ethics, happiness, politics, poetry, and metaphysics in their interrelations. While some understand this book to depict an ideal city, others see it as a defense of despotism, and still others regard it as ironic or anti-political. This course helps students learn to read this inexhaustibly fertile text, to ponder the questions it raises, and to appreciate the power of a great book to enliven enduring questions.
Prerequisites
PHI 100 and any intermediate PHI (151–154).