ABSTRACT
In teaching political philosophy course, the students have realized that philosophy calls into doubt widely agreed-upon beliefs. In our society, the received opinion in the political arena is the superiority of democracy over all other systems. To keep that view from turning into a mere prejudice, however, it needs to be challenged, and one know of no work that does so more effectively than Plato's Republic. While that remarkable book offers a unified account of central issues in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, ethics, social philosophy, philosophy of art, and philosophy of education, the work makes as powerful a case as any against democracy, thus providing a gateway into the study of the political realm. Plato maintains that if the monarch is ideal, possessing moral and intellectual insight and treating all persons fairly, then monarchy is the best form of government. If, however, the monarch does not govern wisely, then monarchy can degenerate into tyranny, the worst form of government.
