1. Being human
2. Aesthetics
3. Epistemology
4. Ethics
5. Philosophy of religion
6. Philosophy of science
7. Political philosophy
8. Social philosophy
9. HL extension: Philosophy and contemporary issues
10. Prescribed philosophical texts
10.1 Language, Truth and Logic – Alfred Jules Ayer
10.2 The Analects – Confucius
10.3 Meditations on First Philosophy – René Descartes
10.4 Black Skin, White Masks – Frantz Fanon
10.5 On the Genealogy of Morality – Friedrich Nietzsche
10.6 Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach – Martha C. Nussbaum
10.7 The Revolt of the Masses – José Ortega y Gasset
10.8 The Republic, Books IV–IX – Plato
10.9 The Ethics of Authenticity – Charles Taylor
10.10 Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu
10.11 The Second Sex – Simone de Beauvoir
10.12 On Liberty – John Stuart Mill
Browse syllabus-aligned notes for 10.8 the Republic, Books IV–IX – Plato. Open each subtopic for focused explanations, examples, and summaries.
10.8.1 Justice in the Individual and the State (Book IV)
42 minute read
10.8.2 The Philosopher-King and the Ideal Ruler (Books V–VII)
45 minute read
10.8.3 The Theory of Forms and the Form of the Good
36 minute read
10.8.4 Education and the Ascent of the Soul (Book VII)
41 minute read
10.8.5 Degeneration of the Soul and the State (Books VIII–IX)
44 minute read
10.8.6 The Nature of the Self
10.8.7 Connections to the Core Theme and Optional Themes
47 minute read