Plato?

Users who are viewing this thread

Tpoucat

Sergeant at Arms
I just picked up The Symposium The Last Says of Socrates and The Republic at a tiny bookstore for 12 dollars total. I'm halfway through The Symposium now and, against my initial expectations, am actually enjoying the style in which it was written. It's actually a fairly easy read, which is odd because usually old works and translated works are often tough slogging I find, due to the fact that they are usually convoluted and repetetive.

Anyone else read any of these? What did you think? Which one is your favourite? The last days of Socrates is supposed to be one of his best, I'm planning on starting that one next.

~Tpoucat
 
I read the symposium some years ago. What I most vividly remember is the story by comedian Aristophanes.
But generally I just find it sad how Plato's authoritarian, chauvinistic thoughts have survived so many years.
I realise that was the way of the world back then, but we'd be much better off without them.
 
Couldn't disagree more Adorno... the fact they exist tells us a lot about the society in which he lived, about his philosophies and the world in general. They serve a great purpose in that respect. And I think you are also exaggerating his views in those respects anyway; there have been many people since with far "worse", more extreme views than him.
Chauvinism was inherent in ancient society. It was a fact of life, just as human death was a lot less shocking, capital punishment was a fairly common thing, slavery existed, and lots of other differences. Just because those views aren't shared by our modern society doesn't mean we have to censor them in history.

And I have read the Republic. This summer I am hoping to get a lot more reading done, so will probably be reading his other works.
 
I would never condone censorship! It's just that some thoughts 'survive' and others die out.
And Plato's thoughts have continued to inspire philosophers through time.
I've read about The Republic and it sounds like an extremely authoritarian,
elitist ideal society where Plato, along with his philosopher buddies, are the true rulers, with their perfect ideas.
 
And you think that we would be better off if we didn't have that work? If anything it serves as a moral benchmark for us to avoid, surely?
I found it to be a very interesting read. Of course I probably never took any of his ideas and applied them to my own life, but reading them is still a very enlightening thing, particularly from the point of view as an ancient historian. The amount it reveals about him probably informs us about a lot of others of the same social class of his period.
And I think his philosophies have hardly been the most destructive or damaging ideas written about in the last 2.5k years. There are others I'd chose to "lose" over his :wink:
 
There would be no philosophy without Plato!

His style is also good, as many philosophers these days don't strive toward clear and understandable ideas. While in some points he is clearly wrong, you're not learning so much facts from Plato, but methods.

Saying that, he is my least favourite out of that trio (the others being Aristotle and Socrates)
 
lol seeing as philosophy literally means "love of thought" basically, i think it's fairly definite the world would be a very dull place if we had none. :razz:

And a point to the op - the translation you are reading often makes a very big difference to whether you enjoy reading the thing or not. If it is translated in a way which makes it nice for you, it can mean the difference between giving up, and reading the whole thing, so it's often worth getting recommendations for translations, or reading a bit of a version before buying, to make sure you think you can stand it.
For example I have a copy of "The Complete Works of Tacitus" in the Church & Broadribb translation from the early 20th century, which I love for its very literal dealing with the language. I also have a much more modern Penguin published translation of just the Annals, which I hate for all the anachronisms and liberties it takes with the original language to make it easier for the less interested reader - for this work I am much more interested in the true nitty gritty of the language and detail, so prefer the much more literal translation which still retains at least some of the original latin devices. Nothing is as good as being able to read a text in the original form with a good understanding of devices and underlying meanings however!

It is a case of finding a translation suited to your interest and wants from a text, often with the balance between readability and accuracy, one suffering at the hands of the other.
 
@Corvus, Yes I was wondering how much of Plato's writing style would survive through the translation, though I have both the penguin translation of the symposium and of the Illiad, and I'm finding that the symposium is the far better read.

Not that I actually agree with most or even any of Plato's philosophy, in modern context most of it (his metaphysics especially) is rediculous.
 
Back
Top Bottom