Benjamin Jowett Poradie kníh

Platónov Štát (Politeia), dielo v desiatich častiach, je po Zákonoch najrozsiahlejším a z hľadiska poznania celého systému Platónovej filozofie najvýznamnejším dialógom vôbec. V ňom vyjadril Platón nielen svoje sociálno-politické názory o „ideálnom štáte“, ale je to zároveň základné dielo aj pre poznanie jeho ontologických, gnozeologických, ako aj psychologických, etických a estetických názorov. Je to dialóg, ktorý zhŕňa Platónove názory predchádzajúcich dialógov, no zároveň je možno do značnej miery chápať aj nasledujúce dialógy ako vysvetlenie a zdôvodnenie toho, čo sa v tomto dialógu zásadne stanovilo.

Plato, an influential Athenian philosopher, established the Platonist school and the Academy, the first higher learning institution in the West. Renowned for his contributions to philosophy, he is a key figure alongside Socrates and Aristotle. His work laid the groundwork for Western thought and religion, with neoplatonism significantly impacting early Christian theology through figures like Augustine. His legacy continues to shape philosophical and spiritual discourse today.

The Republic is a Socratic dialogue, written by Plato around 380 BC, concerning justice, the order and character of the just city-state, and the just man. It is Plato's best-known work, and has proven to be one of the world's most influential works of philosophy and political theory, both intellectually and historically. In the book's dialogue, Socrates discusses with various Athenians and foreigners about the meaning of justice and whether the just man is happier than the unjust man. They consider the natures of existing regimes and then propose a series of different, hypothetical cities in comparison, culminating in Kallipolis, a hypothetical city-state ruled by a philosopher king. They also discuss the theory of forms, the immortality of the soul, and the role of the philosopher and of poetry in society.