4. Philosophers and Kings: Plato's Republic, I-II

Introduction to Political Philosophy (PLSC 114)
Lecture 4 introduces Plato's Republic and its many meanings in the context of moral psychology, justice, the power of poetry and myth, and metaphysics. The Republic is also discussed as a utopia, presenting an extreme vision of a polis--Kallipolis--Plato's ideal city.
00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction
03:04 - Chapter 2. What Is Plato's "Republic" About?
17:38 - Chapter 3. I Went Down to the Piraeus
22:05 - Chapter 4. The Seventh Letter
30:00 - Chapter 5. Analyzing the Beginning of "Republic" and the Hierarchy of Characters
38:13 - Chapter 6. Cephalus
Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: open.yale.edu/courses
This course was recorded in Fall 2006.