The topics of Part 1, an introductory chapter, include: the form of the good; dialectic; the possibility of Plato's 'Callipolis'; the nature of the true philosopher; the philosopher-rulers' intellectual task; the 'most important thing(s) to learn'; the virtues; the meaning of the 'longer way'; the good as a reference point for distinguishing true from false accounts of virtues and virtuous things; and the definability (or not) of the good.