BOOK REVIEW

Name : M. Haris Nisar

Roll # SP-08-103
Book Name : The Republic by Plato

1. MAIN THEME

"The Republic" is a compelling and enduring philosophy of how life should be lived, how
justice should be approached, and how leaders should lead.

2. FIVE KEY IDEAS

(a) The Principle of Specialization: The principle of specialization separates society

into three classes: the class of producers (including farmers, craftsmen, doctors, etc.), the
class of warriors, and the class of rulers. The principle of specialization keeps the farmer
from carpentering, and the carpenter from farming. More important, it keeps both the farmer
and the carpenter from becoming warriors and rulers. Specialization ensures that these
classes remain in a fixed relation of power and influence. Rulers control the city, establishing
its laws and objectives. Warriors carry out the commands of rulers. Producers stay out of
political affairs, only worrying about the business. Plato believes that a city setup in this way
is a just city.

(b) The Tripartite Soul: Plato claims that each individual soul has three parts: the
appetitive part of our soul lusts after food, drink, and after money most of all, since money is
the means of satisfying the rest of these desires; the spirited part of the soul yearns for honor;
the rational part of the soul desires truth and knowledge. In a just soul, these three parts stand
in the correct power relations. The rational part must rule, the spirited part must enforce the
rational part’s convictions, and the appetitive part must obey. In the just soul, the desires of
the rational, truth-loving part dictate the overall aims of the human being. The just soul
strives wholly toward truth. Plato identifies the philosopher as the most just individual, and
sets him up as ruler of the just city.

(c) The Sun, The Line, The Cave: This book filled with inspiring imagery. Plato asks us
to imagine the following scenario: A group of people have lived in a deep cave since birth,
never seeing any daylight at all. These people are able to see only shadows on the wall in
front of them, cast by the fire behind them. Most people take this to be all there is to reality
and strive for the knowledge of the shadow world, but they are wrong to do so. A few turn
and see the brightness of the fire, but even they are misguided. Only a few leave the cave,
and eventually see the brightness of the sun, and these are the people with the necessary
knowledge to rule.

(d) Political and Moral Theory: This book gives us the idea about political theory and
moral theory and relating them to the Western tradition. What Plato does is confront a variety
of disbeliever, who thinks that morality is garbage. These people think that the world belongs
to powerful people, the weak go to the wall and only the strong survive. These people also
think that people are only moral because it costs them too much to be otherwise.

(e) Modern Human Beings: This book proposes many things that disgust most modern
human beings: censorship for political stability, exclusion of those with "weak" emotions,
killing young children, government regulation of sexual activity, and such. Even when Plato
tries to give women equal rights, an extremely radical idea in Ancient Greece, his ancient
prejudices show up when he calls them "equal but weaker in all ways(morally, intellectually,
and physically).
3. IMPACT ON CAREER/PERSONAL LIFE

The concepts of Plato are somewhat controversial. One agrees to his point of view few some
times but there are instances where I totally differ from his point of view. However following
are few points which I think can be helpful in my career and personal life.
.
(a) Plato believes that all members of society are crucial to everyone's happiness and that
he only serves a role in the society, which urges me to actively participate in the society.

(b) Plato taught me that initial success can be gained easily but to get the ultimate result
some extraordinary work is required by the individual.

(c) All the individuals under the command should be treated with social justice and there
should be no difference in them.

(d) Plato believes that each member of society must play the role for which his nature
best suits him and not indulge in any other business. I also believe this because this is the
only way to ensure that each job is done well as possible.

4. FOUR OTHER BOOKS ON SIMILAR TOPIC:

(a) Beginners’ Guide to Plato’s Republic by Harry Eyre’s

(b) An Introduction to Plato’s Republic by Julia Annas

(c) Totalitarian by KARL Popper

(d) Five Dialogues by Plato

5. RECOMMENDATION:

I recommend his book because

(a) It’s a great classic of both the philosophy and literature and it’s a must read for who
ever is interested in philosophy.

(b) The Republic is the first work of real philosophy in the conversation of ideals that
continues to this very day in fields as diverse as politics, philosophy, psychology,
anthropology, and religion. This book is the fountain from which all the western
thoughts flow.

(c) The Republic is the work that single-handedly separated the real from the ideal in
Western civilization, and it also defined the kinds of questions that Western
philosophers would try to answer until the 20th century. Pick up any Western
philosophy book at random and you will find the issues addressed in The Republic at
the very start of that book.