A lively dialogue between a foreign philosopher and a powerful statesman, Laws reflects the essence of the philosopher's reasoning on political theory and practice. It also embodies his mature and more practical ideas about a utopian republic. Plato's discourse ranges from everyday issues of criminal and matrimonial law to wider considerations.
Plato ranks among the most familiar ancient philosophers, along with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle. In addition to writing philosophical dialogues - used to teach logic, ethics, rhetoric, religion, and mathematics as well as philosophy - he founded Athens' Academy, the Western world's first institution of higher learning.