Description

The following interpretation of the Republic is the result of some fifty years of reflection and numerous graduate seminars offered at Penn State University, the Scuola Superiore in Pisa, and Boston University, as well as invited lectures at a wide range of academic institutions and conferences, too many to acknowledge. I learned something important on each of these occasions and benefited from too many teachers, colleagues, and students to name them all. One name stands out, that of Leo Strauss, and it is important to acknowledge this influence, especially today when so many absurd accusations are being leveled against him, not infrequently by those who have highhandedly appropriated his doctrines and methods, but more often by those who have simply distorted his teaching or reduced it to vulgarity. It is especially incumbent upon me to make this acknowledgment because I disagree with his interpretation of the Republic on important points and find it lacking in technical detail on such crucial topics as the doctrine of Ideas. Strauss’s lectures on Plato require modification and development, but they constitute an essential step in my own understanding of the dramatic structure of the dialogues. As a small token of my esteem for Strauss as a teacher and scholar, I dedicate this book to his memory.