This interactive four-session course is directed at adults who have no academic background in philosophy or ancient Greek, but who want to explore this classical text with a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide.

The Republic is considered to be a foundational text of western philosophy. In it, Plato addresses two questions: "Is it better to be a just person or an unjust one?" and "What does justice mean?" In answering these, he provides a fascinating account of the ideal city, poetry, the human soul, desire, education, violence, and the very nature of truth and reality itself. Presented as a dialogue, the Republic is not only profound in its arguments, but is also a rewarding literary work full of drama and humor.

Mon, 6/29 - No reading assumed. Introduction to the structure and form of the dialogue. Discussion of seriousness and Socratic irony. Walk through the arguments of Book 1: "What is justice?" and "is justice advantageous to its possessor?"

Mon, 7/6 - Have read up through Book 4 of 10. Plato's ideal city and the definition of justice.

Mon, 7/13 - Have read up through Book 7 of 10. Three waves of absurdity, Plato's metaphysics and epistemology.

Mon, 7/20 - Have read up through Book 10 of 10. Bad regimes and souls, defense of justice as advantageous, poetry in the ideal city.

Click on the links below to get The Republic by Plato:

• Internet Classics Archive
• Librivox

Taught by Brian Land, Ph.D. He has taught The Republic in its entirety for about five years at Temple University and has found it to be both very rich and valuable to a variety of interests as it touches on politics, ethics, human nature, poetry, and the nature of reality and truth.