Platonic philosophy

philologos

I've gotten back into reading Plato for a module I'm studying in Political Philosophy, and after reading Aristotle for a while I find it so refreshing. Although we can't know for sure what Plato himself thought in comparison to Aristotle it is much clearer to read and there is so much one can easily grasp from his philosophy.

I'm currently reading the dialogue between Socrates and Cephalus and Polemarchus and later Thyrasmachus at the beginning of his Republic regarding what is justice? It's incredibly interesting because I find that this is a question that we don't really ask. I've read a sections of Plato's work before including the Apology, the Crito, the Phaedo and other sections of his Republic.

I want to ask you my fellow boards.ie philosophers:
What is your favourite Platonic dialogue and why or what section of Platonic philosophy do you appreciate the most?

MickJB1989

I did Gorgias in first year of my undergraduate degree (an LL.B, but I took a philosophy module). Wasn't particularly moved by it. Have read Republic a few times, more for the statehood stuff than the justice aspects, and regard it fairly highly.

I've got a complete works volume, that I'm slowly but surely working my way through, quite enjoyed Apology, although it was more a monologue than a dialogue, but if I recall correctly it had some rather good points on the righteous man.

I've never read Aristotle, but I did download his Ethics and Politics on Kindle for my iPhone, which I plan on getting to eventually. I'm in an Italian mood at the moment, having just re-read Machiavelli's The Prince, and currently reading a biography of Cicero, so Greeks are on the backburner for me I'm afraid.

David Matthew

I think I enjoyed Plato's Symposium the most. The poetic Plato comes out to play, and some moments in it are truly exhilarating. We see Socrates almost as an artist, rhapsodizing on the power of Love as a mediator between the Human and the Divine.

With a philosophy classic, you needn't agree with the text - you simply live it.

David Matthew

Jakkass wrote: »

...what section of Platonic philosophy do you appreciate the most?[/B]

I'm using this as a separate question, as the Symposium in and of itself doesn't exactly embody the Platonic philosophy I would admire the most. I think for that I would dip into the collection of dialogues known as the The Last Days of Socrates (or elsewhere, the Trial and Death of Socrates - basically the dialogues you mention above), as they are a great starting point for people looking for a solid introduction to Plato's thought, and his method (most of the time) for getting his philosophy across to his readers.

I remember first reading this on a bus in Dublin, and getting completely lost in it.