Republic

TheideasofPlato(c429-347BC)haveinfluencedWesternphilosophersforovertwothousandyears.Suchishisimportancethatthetwentieth-centuryphilosopherA.N.Whiteheaddescribedallsubsequentdevelopmentswithinthesubjectasfoot-notestoPlato'swork.Beyondphilosophy,hehasexertedamajorinfluenceonthedevelopmentofWesternliterature,politicsandtheology.TheRepublicdealswiththegreatrangeofPlato'sthought,butisparticularlyconcernedwithwhatmakesawell-balancedsocietyandindividual.Itcombinesargumentandmythtoadvocatealifeorganizedbyreasonratherthandominatedbydesiresandappetites.Regardedbysomeasthefoundationdocumentoftotalitarianism,byothersasacalltodevelopthefullpotentialofhumanity,theRepublicremainsachallengingandintenselyexcitingwork.