Plato, Republic
Written in the first half of the fourth century B.C.E., Plato’s Republic is among the most influential and well-known texts of the ancient world. Written in dialogue form, the text presents an extended discussion of justice, both as it pertains to the individual, and as it pertains to the state. The Republic covers a wide range of topics and is a foundational text for a number of modern disciplines (e.g., ethics, psychology, education, ontology, epistemology, political science, literary criticism). It can be profitably read in comparison to a number of other texts in the HUM curriculum, such as, Machiavelli’s Prince, More’s Utopia, or Montaigne’s essay On Cannibals.
