"An excellent text for beginning students in philosophy, written in a lively, clear, and engaging style."--Gregory F. Weis, University of South Carolina Aiken
"Very useful to undergraduates. Conversational style. Solid interpretations presented."--Verna V. Gehring, Hood College
"Compact, well-integrated basic introduction to the Republic. It should prove an excellent supplementary volume for students working on the Republic in introductory philosophy courses."--Dan O'Bryan, Sierra Nevada College
"This will surely be a helpful guide to a generation of beginning students in philosophy."--Robert L. Perkins, Stetson University
Product Description
A Guide to Plato's Republic provides an integral interpretation of the Republic which is accessible even to readers approaching Plato's masterwork for the first time. Written at a level understandable to undergraduates, it is ideal for students and other readers who have little or no background in philosophy or political theory. Rice anticipates their inevitable reactions to the Republic and treats them seriously, opening the way to an appreciation of the complexities of the text without oversimplifying it.
While many books on the Republic never stray far from explicating Plato's text, this work contrasts Plato's responses to perennial issues in philosophy and political theory with those of several key subsequent thinkers. It uses engaging examples to show the continuing relevance of Plato's arguments and introduces some basic vocabulary of philosophy and political theory, going beyond terse dictionary definitions by illustrating what technical terms mean in the context of Plato's work.
The author's interpretative posture is appreciative but respectfully critical of Plato's vision. Stressing the relationship between Plato's politics and metaphysics, Rice argues that Plato's reluctance to accept the reality and consequences of finitude accounts for much of what many readers find objectionable in his politics.
Lively, relatively brief, and designed to provoke discussion in the classroom, A Guide to Plato's Republic is ideal for political theory and introduction to philosophy courses as well as other courses that assign the Republic as a primary text.
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