Philosopher-Kings

"Philosopher-Kings broke new ground on its first appearance by delivering to an audience accustomed to looking for flaws in Plato's thinking an interpretation of the Republic that celebrates the coherence of Plato's argument as it ramifies through every cranny of that controversial work. Reeve's book swiftly became a classic of Platonic scholarship and has never lost its grip. Its reissue by Hackett is a very welcome event."
     —G.R.F. Ferrari, University of California, Berkeley

SKU
26500g

The Argument of Plato's Republic

C. D. C. Reeve

2006 - 368 pp.

Grouped product items
Format ISBN Price Qty
Cloth 978-0-87220-815-5
$52.00
Paper 978-0-87220-814-8
$18.00

eBook available for $15.95. Click HERE for more information.

A reprint of the Princeton University Press edition of 1988.

Reviews:

"Philosopher-Kings broke new ground on its first appearance by delivering to an audience accustomed to looking for flaws in Plato's thinking an interpretation of the Republic that celebrates the coherence of Plato's argument as it ramifies through every cranny of that controversial work. Reeve's book swiftly became a classic of Platonic scholarship and has never lost its grip. Its reissue by Hackett is a very welcome event."
     —G.R.F. Ferrari, University of California, Berkeley

 

"Philosopher-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

 

"This is a marvelous orientation to Plato's Republic.  It brings to light the sophistication and depth of Plato's psychopolitics, surely one of his great legacies."
     —Jonathan Lear, The University of Chicago

 

About the Author:

C. D. C. Reeve is Delta Kappa Epsilon Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.