We are surrounded by chairs, but there is a single Form of the "chair" that is common to all of them and makes them what they are.
The other thing we need to know about Platonic philosophy in the Republic (actually, this is true in all of his works) is that Plato believes wholeheartedly in an objective human Good, and he feels it is the goal of philosophy to find that Good. Plato's work rests on morality in many places, and this provides it with both passionate credibility and intellectual fallibility. Plato rejected human sensory observation in favor of seeking the higher good of the Forms, which were the key by which humans could come to an understanding of the truth of their universe and lead happier, fuller lives. Plato's rejection of the senses, and adherence to a normative belief at the core of his work, is the subject of many other philosophical schools' attacks on his works, most notably the skeptics, the naturalists, and Aristotle.
The Republic is an expansive work that touches on many areas of Plato's philosophy--if we can understand it, we have moved a long way toward an understanding of Plato, who stands as one of the cornerstones of the Western philosophical tradition.
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Plato .
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Athenian philosopher, author of the Republic. As a young man, Plato was a disciple of Socrates, and his early work bears the mark of Socrates' heavy influence. During his middle period, and particularly with the Republic, Plato began to espouse a more purely personal philosophy based on his own Theory of the Forms.
Socrates .
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We do not know the nature of Socrates and Plato's relationship, although it can be inferred from elements in some of the dialogues that there was at least a measure of emotional friendship between the two. Socrates had, by far, more influence than any other philosopher on the young Plato's intellectual development. It is a measure of the reverence that Plato felt for his former teacher that he kept Socrates central in all of his work, even after his philosophy had extended far beyond the scope of his mentor's.
