Leo Strauss On Plato's 'The Republic', plus commentary and additions
This essay is a rendition, mostly word for word, of Leo Strauss' (a Jewish emigre American scholar-philosopher influenced by Nietzsche) own writings on the subject. It is primarily intended to make his thought, which I believe to be largely true and important, available to a new or wider audience; occasionally though, I have made additions or alterations at certain points in order to offer some of my own reflections, which appear in bold. PLATO 427-347 B. C. Thirty-five dialogues and thirteen letters have come down to us as Platonic writings, not all of which are now regarded as genuine. Some scholars go so far as to doubt that any of the letters is genuine. It seems then Plato never speaks to us in his own name, for in his dialogues only his characters pseak. Why Plato proceeded in this manner is not easy to say. Perhaps he doubted there can be a philosophic teaching proper, and, too, thought like his master Socrates that philosophy is in the last analysis knowl...

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