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One of the foremost philosophers known to western thought, Plato wrote The Republic and put into fruition the seeds of a new order of thinking that devised and expounded the theories of politics and philosophy. Summary Of The Book The Republic is an exposition on the theory of justice that seeks to define and characterize the qualities of justice and the vehicle of people and politics on which it operates. Is it a merely an existing premise of law, that through fear of retribution propels people into following it or is it for the sake of altruistic aspirations? The book expounds the primary notion of societal justice or political justice, as it may be known. It then goes on to explicate a parallel concept of individual justice. He states the roles and responsibilities of justice in an ideal society and inversely, in a corrupt society. Through his formulations of division, in the structure and function of justice in different mediums, he conceptualizes a clear stratification of the same across different classes of society. His partitions ply to the concept of the state government machinery that was the order of the day then and appropriates the different warriors, guardians, and producers their respective places in his theoretical premise of justice. Any deviation that occurs in the premises that he has devised for the classes is a possible lead to deriding the ideal society. According to Plato, when rationality is impinged upon by the inclinations to lust it results in a sacrosanct violation of the principle of an ideal society plaguing its machinery into likely corruption. According to The Republic the connection that runs through society and individuals is not a slight one but indeed both share a deep-rooted bond. His arguments extend further across varied and intricate subject matter like the theory of forms and of government and its avatars all through to the positions of the philosopher and poet in society. The most well known work of Plato, it was written in the Socratic dialogue reminiscent of the Greek intellect and dramatic prose of that time and age. The Republic has become a point of origin for several other philosophical theories and is touted to be one of the most influential works on the theories of politics and philosophy. About Plato One of the most renowned philosophers that practiced treatise and mathematics in the same breath, Plato holds a special place in the propagation of western thought and philosophy. Some of the books he has written are Symposium, The Last Days of Socrates, Great Dialogues of Plato, and Republic. Plato has written over thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters most of them in distinct fashions that had made it cumbersome for scholars to reference the texts. He immersed his texts in concrete investigations into the subjects of philosophy, ethics, logic, mathematics, and rhetoric. A classical Greek philosopher, he was greatly influenced by Socrates, his teacher and philosopher who guided Plato into formulating his own theories that commanded the attention of thinkers everywhere, even now. Studying under the tutelage of Socrates, Plato was greatly influenced by the teachings and life of his teacher. Plato, his teacher, Socrates, and student, Aristotle, are the founding fathers of western thought and science. He also set up the first university of higher learning in the world in Athens.