Philosopher-kings

Reeve's study sets out to rebuild the full line of reasoning in Plato's Republic. Many readers have treated the dialogue as a loose collection of uneven parts, but this book argues that it is a coherent and systematic whole. Along the way, it shows that the work confronts basic questions in philosophy and offers strong, searching answers to them.

The author's central claim is that Plato's account of the mind, and especially his theory of desires, is the key to understanding the dialogue, which is among his most ambitious works. The philosopher-kings named in the title are important figures in the argument, and the book examines how they connect to the rest of the text.

The book is written for readers of philosophy who want a close, argument-driven reading of Plato's text and its internal structure.