Description
Book SynopsisPresents the Princeton University Press edition of 1988. This work provides an interpretation of Republic that makes a case for the coherence of Plato's argument.
Trade ReviewPhilosopher-Kings is a remarkable book, in the breadth of its scope as well as in the texture of its execution. It constitutes the most ambitious contemporary reading of the
Republic, the most persistent, single-minded effort to give a unified reading of this immensely complex text. It is innovative in its attention not to a particular passage, argument, or theory on Plato's part, but to the whole of the
Republic as a deeply coherent text, with no loose ends. --Alexander Nehamas, Princeton University
Reeve's brilliant treatment of the unity of Plato's
Republic is a unique contribution to our understanding of that dialogue. Elegantly written, philosophically rich, his book stands to this day as one of the most creative readings of a Platonic dialogue of the past several decades. No one interested in Plato's ethics, political thought, and moral psychology can afford to neglect the striking and provocative way in which Reeve traces the parallel structures of Plato's literary masterpiece. --Michael L. Morgan, Indiana University
