History and the Manifestation of the Good in Plato’s <i>Republic</i>

Abstract

This paper suggests that history, both personal and political, plays a crucial role in the manifestation (or concealment) of the Good in Plato’s Republic. After an introduction on how to read Plato’s dialogues vis-a-vis the problem of history, this article offers a close reading of Books I and VIII of the Republic.

Keywords

• Plato
• republic
• metaphysics
• history