Philosophy, as the English philosopher AN Whitehead remarked, is arguably a series of footnotes to Plato. Perhaps Plato’s most important work is The Republic, a provocative search for the nature of a just society. In it, we are introduced to questions and ideas that would provide the foundation for much of over 2,000 years of philosophical argumentation, such as: Who is fit to rule? What determines the nature of a thing? How should we educate our young? Is Right anything more than Might? What is the soul? 

Philosophers, politicians, historians and artists have repeatedly returned to The Republic for inspiration, argumentation, and a deep insight into the nature of philosophy. If there is a case to be made for the ‘useless’ subject of philosophy, and the academy as the place to ask unanswerable questions , then what better place to start than with Plato?