The Republic

This guide works through Plato's Republic, the dialogue in which he takes up the deepest questions about the human soul and the life of a political community. It also considers which things people should honor and revere, what philosophy is, and how the philosopher stands in relation to the city. Howland presents Socratic inquiry as something that is never finished, that often appears paradoxical, and that leaves much open. That openness, he argues, lets readers return to Plato's questions and find new ways into them.

Jacob Howland is McFarlin Professor of Philosophy at the University of Tulsa, where he teaches in the Honors Program and in the philosophy department. His work covers Plato, Aristotle, Xenophon, and Hegel. His other books include The Paradox of Political Socrates' Philosophic Trial, Kierkegaard and Socrates, and Plato and the Talmud.