Plato's Republic

De: The Great Courses, David Roochnik

Narrado por: Professor David Roochnik Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University

More than 2,000 years later, Plato's Republic remains astonishingly relevant to our everyday lives. It poses one question after another that might well have been drawn from the headlines and debates of our nation's recent history: What sort of person should rule the state? Are all citizens equal before the law? Should everyone have equal access to health care? Plato's greater inquiry, however, was into the question of defining justice itself and the reasons why a person would choose a life aligned with that virtue.

These 24 remarkable lectures lead you through the brilliant dialogue Plato crafted both to define and examine the issues with which political philosophy still grapples.

Chapter by chapter, Professor Roochnik introduces you to Plato's literary recasting of his own great teacher, Socrates, and the dialogue through which Socrates and the Republic's other characters create the hypothetical ideal city. It is by dissecting life in this presumably just city - the "Republic" of Plato's title - that the nature of justice itself can be examined.

Many of Plato's ideas will startle contemporary readers, who may recognize in them the foreshadowing of some of humankind's darkest moments. Indeed, some have called the Republic the "great-great-grandfather of all totalitarian experiments." You'll wrestle with Plato's controversial vision, and you'll be surprised just how contemporary these arguments sound.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2005 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2005 The Great Courses

don't read the Republic before you read this!

I was tempted to read an actual translation of the Republic before I read an interpretation of it, but luckily decided to do it the other way around. I am yet to find a Great Courses piece that I did not find tremendously insightful and this one did not disappoint. I would have been (and I guess so would the average non Philosophy professor type reader) totally lost in Plato's Republic had it not been for the interpretation. The best part of Prof. Roochnik's style is how he preempts the reader's biases and interpretation of the various parts of the book, and carefully sets the scene for the reader not to jump to any conclusions too early. He clearly has lived through the Republic with many people many times and has the ability to guide the listener through the book masterfully.

I was totally overwhelmed by Plato - all my expectations were truly exceeded. Another great course of a timeless essential topic. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Great Overview of Plato's Republic

Easy to follow synopsis (broad synopsis) of Plato's Republic. I enjoyed how David challenged listeners to think for themselves in regards to the meaning of certain key aspects. Very well elaborated how certain parts of the dialogue tie into post-Republic era mindsets.

It's like a master class

This was a well explained, well narrated series of lectures on Plato's Republic. I'm sure I will return to listen to it again in the future.

Very detailed

loved the depth and detail of each chapter and explanation. I will definitely listen again!

Just great.

Great audiobook. He explains Plato in a way that's easy to understand and follow along.

Interesting but highly speculative approach

I’ve read the book and listened to the course. The lecturer is an excellent performer. He presents the topic in an interesting and engaging way. Albeit, some of his example are somewhat too shallow. The example of Alcibiades is not very good and can work only under the assumption that the listener doesn’t know who Alcibiades was. My issue is that some things are, *in my personal and non-professional*, over-emphasized. Such as the similarity between the philosopher and the tyrant in the sense of Eros. In the book itself there is no explicit description of the philosopher as an erotic individual, whereas the tyrant is explicitly described as ruled by Eros. Similarly, the critique of the city-soul analogy is, in my opinion, weak. The discussion of democracy ignores the fact that Socrates places democracy beneath timocracy and oligarchy in terms of happiness. There are other issues, but mostly minor. However, since I am not a philosopher and this is the way I read the “Republic” my criticism of the course should be taken with more than a pinch of salt. Overall, the course provokes thought as does the book. I do recommend reading the relevant parts of the book before listening to the lectures

Fantastic

An engaging, and thoughtful analysis of The Republic by Prof. Roochnik. I appreciated that the professor never shied away from giving his own interpretation of the meaning of select passages.
Highly recommended.

Read Again

I’ll go read The Republic again. David Roochnik did really bring The Republic to life!!

Very engaging Summary

I will listen to this several times as the key concepts of Plato’s book are articulated very well.

Simply Awesome!

Beautiful narration with simple examples and explanations by Professor David Roochnik that keep your interest alive throughout the book. Enjoyed each and every piece of it on my way to work on the NYC Subway while having my morning coffee. Love it!