‘Weiss undertakes a nuanced investigation of Book One of Plato's Republic. In clear and engaging arguments, she unpacks Plato's notion of justice, illuminating how and why Book One's often overlooked ideas are, in fact, central to the Republic's arguments. Her accomplished analysis will prove to be indispensable for beginning students and advanced scholars of Plato alike.'
Marina McCoy - Professor of Philosophy, Boston College
‘This book is both a philosophical commentary on the first book of Plato’s Republic and a sustained argument regarding the nature of justice throughout the whole dialogue. … Weiss provides a terrific close reading … reconstructions of the book’s arguments, helpful philosophical distinctions, interpretations of literary features and abundant connections to secondary literature on each point. The results are illuminating - and impossible to ignore - for anyone wishing to understand and interpret Book 1. And, since the themes of Book 1 extend across the entire dialogue, Weiss’s book will be a valuable resource for anyone working on the Republic.’
Source: The Classical Review
‘Roslyn Weiss provides a thoughtful commentary on what she takes to be the all-too-easily forgotten book 1 of Plato’s Republic … She indicates that book 1 is particularly helpful as a corrective to ‘Book 4’s notion that justice, whether of a city or a soul, is internal’ and to ‘Book 7’s advocacy of rule by philosophers who must be compelled to govern’ … Weiss has written an engaging book on the beginning of Plato’s most famous dialogue. Readers will welcome the book’s clarity and organization. Students of the Republic doubtless have much to gain from a close reading of Weiss’s new book.’
Source: Interpretation
‘Weiss’s exegesis is careful, thought-provoking, and stimulating … I would strongly recommend this study to students and scholars of Plato interested in the Republic and its inquiry into justice … her book decisively reopens the question of what Republic 1 is doing-and forces any interpretation of the Republic as a whole to reckon seriously with its opening book.’
Source: Bryn Mawr Classical Review
‘Weiss’s scholarly contribution merits recognition for presenting a neglected interpretation of the Platonic conception of justice in Book 1. Weiss revives largely overlooked accounts of justice in Book 1 by challenging the traditional scholarly consensus that the internal harmony of the soul, as depicted in Book 4, constitutes the sole account of justice in the Republic …. The relevance of Book 1 may prompt serious students of jurisprudence to reflect more deeply on the diverse conceptions of justice from a renewed perspective.’
Source: Liverpool Law Review
‘Weiss gives a thorough and well-researched reading of Republic 1 and makes a novel case for viewing the rest of the dialogue through the lens of book 1… The schemata of the various arguments in Republic 1 are clear and compelling. The analyses that follow are likewise generally thoughtful and are always thorough in their engagement with relevant scholarship. Finally, and most provocatively, Weiss builds upon her interpretation of Republic 1 in order to level a serious critique of the later books of the Republic, and in particular of the supposed definition of justice in Republic 4 …. With Republic 1 in mind, Weiss argues that what Plato ‘wants his readers to see’ is that what’s actually being defined and discussed in book 4 is ‘moderation by another name.’ The arguments for this view, which close out the book, are thought-provoking and raise excellent questions. A wonderful conclusion to a book that takes seriously the arguments about justice in Republic 1.’
Yancy Hughes Dominick
Source: Review of Metaphysics
‘There are three characteristics of Roslyn Weiss’s new book that make it idealfor the study of Plato’s Republic. First, there is a very astute balance betweenconsiderations of the dramatic structure of Plato’s dialogue and the argumentsthat occur within that dramatic structure. Second, her treatment of secondaryliterature does not appear to be a result simply of due diligence, but ratherof constituting a community - one wants to say ‘city’ - of commentators inorder to model the kind of conversation that philosophy professors generallywant to promote. Third, Weiss has (to my mind) a wholly original reading ofBook One of the Republic and its relation to the later books of Plato’s dialogue.....Weiss’s work gives us a great reason to return to the Republic.’
Jeffrey A. Bernstein
Source: Philosophical Quarterly
‘This concise monograph is a painstaking and learned examination of the first book of Plato’s Republic. It is admirably attentive to nuances in the arguments of both Socrates and his three main interlocutors there-Cephalus, Polemarchus, Thrasymachus-while also keeping at least one eye on the connections between those arguments and subsequent developments in the remaining nine books of the dialogue …. Justice in Plato’s ‘Republic’ remains a useful resource that can be consulted with profit by those who wish to begin to understand for themselves this truly classic text.’
Robert C. Bartlett
Source: Review of Politics
‘Weiss’s account of justice is novel and distinctive, but it does not exhaust the value of the book. While Weiss’s central argument is never far from view, she takes her project of commentary seriously and does not reduce every passage to her main theme. She is attuned to the ways that Socratic questioning can subtly transform the object of discussion … and I found her discussion of Platonic humor particularly useful …. These sorts of sensitive and insightful readings will make Justice in Plato’s 'Republic' a valuable resource for anyone reading Republic 1.’
Source: Polis
