Philosophical Fiction Book Club

This event is proud to be supported by The Royal Institute of Philosophy’s Local Partners Programme.

N.B. this meeting will be held in person in the Prince of Wales pub near Covent Garden. There is also an online session held on Thursday if you are not in London or are not able to attend in person for any other reason.

Arguably the most influential work of philosophy in history, this book closes off our Socrates Season where we have delved into utopias, dystopias and works directly or indirectly about the man himself.

Told as a dialogue between Socrates and various opponents, Plato gives us a dramatic exploration of ideas about justice, education, community and The Good. Give yourself time to read this one and enjoy the challenging ideas that Socrates/Plato presents to us.

We won’t be prescriptive about which translation we discuss but as people have asked, the Bloom translation is widely recognised as both accurate and accessible.

The meeting starts at 7pm with drink breaks at 8 and 9. The discussion will end around 10pm but leave whenever you need to.

Here's the blurb from goodreads:
Plato's Republic is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy. Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, it is an inquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. During the conversation other questions are raised: what is goodness; what is reality; what is knowledge; what is the purpose of education? With remarkable lucidity and deft use of allegory, Plato arrives at a depiction of a state bound by harmony and ruled by 'philosopher kings'.

This event is proud to be supported by The Royal Institute of Philosophy’s Local Partners Programme.

N.B.: this meeting will be held online via Google Meet There is also an in-person session being held on Wednesday in the Prince of Wales pub near Covent Garden.

Arguably the most influential work of philosophy in history, this book closes off our Socrates Season where we have delved into utopias, dystopias and works directly or indirectly about the man himself.

Told as a dialogue between Socrates and various opponents, Plato gives us a dramatic exploration of ideas about justice, education, community and The Good. Give yourself time to read this one and enjoy the challenging ideas that Socrates/Plato presents to us.

We won’t be prescriptive about which translation we discuss but as people have asked, the Bloom translation is widely recognised as both accurate and accessible.

The meeting starts at 7pm with drink breaks at 8 and 9. The discussion will end around 10pm but leave whenever you need to.

Here's the blurb from goodreads:
Plato's Republic is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy. Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, it is an inquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. During the conversation other questions are raised: what is goodness; what is reality; what is knowledge; what is the purpose of education? With remarkable lucidity and deft use of allegory, Plato arrives at a depiction of a state bound by harmony and ruled by 'philosopher kings'.