In this book a distinguished philosopher offers a comprehensive interpretation of Plato’s most controversial dialogue. Treating the
Republic as a unity and focusing on the dramatic form as the presentation of the argument, Stanley Rosen challenges earlier analyses of the
Republic (including the ironic reading of Leo Strauss and his disciples) and argues that the key to understanding the dialogue is to grasp the author’s intention in composing it, in particular whether Plato believed that the city constructed in the
Republic is possible and desirable.
Rosen demonstrates that the fundamental principles underlying the just city are theoretically attractive but that the attempt to enact them in practice leads to conceptual incoherence and political disaster. The Republic, says Rosen, is a vivid illustration of the irreconcilability of philosophy and political practice.
Plato’s Republic
S TA N L E Y R O S E N
Plato’s Republic A STUDY
Yale University Press New Haven & London
To the genuine Leo Strauss
Published with assistance from the Louis Stern Memorial Fund. Copyright ∫ 2005 by Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Set in Sabon type by Keystone Typesetting, Inc. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rosen, Stanley, 1929– Plato’s Republic : a study / Stanley Rosen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-300-10962-8 (alk. paper) 1. Plato. Republic. I. Title. jc71.p6r67 2005 321%.07—dc22 2005044011 A catalogue record for this book is a