Lethal Weapon
Sentinel
- Joined
- November 11, 2006
- Messages
- 257
magerette, there are free English translations all over the net, just google them if you don't feel like buying a book. I have to disagree with PJ, there is no real need to start with a commentary. I've been studying Plato as well as other ancient philosophers since I was 14 (they teach them at school here, or at least they used to), and in my experience it is a never-ending trip. You can never hope to fully understand them and your interpetration is bound to be highly subjective, I found myself giving different interpretations at different stages of my life. People are trying to interpret them for more than two thousand years with no final conclusion yet. On the other hand you will be surprised to see how many very simple things that today most people are taking for granted without giving as much as a second thought, were actually a subject of debate back then, this was an age that the very basis of our modern way of thinking was forming.
Regarding Plato in particular, the good news is that he is particularly pleasant to read. His works are written as theatrical plays, so instead of being confronted with difficult to understand text as is the case with many other philosophers, you will only be reading dialogues and you will be expected to make your own parallelisms as to what is really meant or discussed and then draw your own conclusions. I would suggest however to start with "Socrates' Apology" and leave "The Symposium" until much later on as many of the more complex matters are discussed in the latter.
Other things to keep in mind:
- Plato lived in an age that slavery was the basis of all economy and monarchy was the most common type of government. Some of what he writes might seem at a first glance as an effort to justify this state of affairs.
- Although Socrates will appear as a main character in many dialogues, Plato simply honours his teacher. This is not the real Socrates speaking, and Plato's works are not historical accounts of the lives and beliefs of the people presented in his works. They are mostly 'fictional' in this regard.
Other than that, should you decide to go on, happy reading!
Regarding Plato in particular, the good news is that he is particularly pleasant to read. His works are written as theatrical plays, so instead of being confronted with difficult to understand text as is the case with many other philosophers, you will only be reading dialogues and you will be expected to make your own parallelisms as to what is really meant or discussed and then draw your own conclusions. I would suggest however to start with "Socrates' Apology" and leave "The Symposium" until much later on as many of the more complex matters are discussed in the latter.
Other things to keep in mind:
- Plato lived in an age that slavery was the basis of all economy and monarchy was the most common type of government. Some of what he writes might seem at a first glance as an effort to justify this state of affairs.
- Although Socrates will appear as a main character in many dialogues, Plato simply honours his teacher. This is not the real Socrates speaking, and Plato's works are not historical accounts of the lives and beliefs of the people presented in his works. They are mostly 'fictional' in this regard.
Other than that, should you decide to go on, happy reading!
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2006
- Messages
- 257