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notwithoutwitness's review
4.0
Excellent study on Plato's Republic. I especially appreciated the discussion / interpretation of Plato's Republic not being a possibility. And hinting that this was Plato's point, his critique of the political culture he found himself in.
hammo's review
5.0
I haven't been especially impressed with Plato in past readings. But based on this lecture series, I'm pretty keen to try on The Republic.
Had a good giggle over Socrates' assertion that Philosophy is an erotic enterprise. In context, this means that it requires passion.
Beautiful metaphor of the state as a ship. The captain ends up being the person who is focused on the other inhabitants of the ship and how to manipulate them. The captain should be the person who is looking up to the stars for navigation.
Glaucon raises an objection to Plato's cave: why should the philosopher who has seen the sun return to the cave to unshackle the others? I vaguely remember something about the Buddha wanting to stay in an enlightened meditation but being compelled to spread the message of enlightenment by some god or other.
You heard it from Plato first: the best city can only be one in which the rulers are the least eager to rule.
"Mathematics is fundamental in the formation of a philosophical soul."
Had a good giggle over Socrates' assertion that Philosophy is an erotic enterprise. In context, this means that it requires passion.
Beautiful metaphor of the state as a ship. The captain ends up being the person who is focused on the other inhabitants of the ship and how to manipulate them. The captain should be the person who is looking up to the stars for navigation.
Glaucon raises an objection to Plato's cave: why should the philosopher who has seen the sun return to the cave to unshackle the others? I vaguely remember something about the Buddha wanting to stay in an enlightened meditation but being compelled to spread the message of enlightenment by some god or other.
You heard it from Plato first: the best city can only be one in which the rulers are the least eager to rule.
"Mathematics is fundamental in the formation of a philosophical soul."
mato_szabo's review
4.0
A very nice and in-depth look at Plato's Republic. Plato is one of those authors, who even if you haven't read them, you still sort of know their ideas. That's how deeply they are ingrained in our civilization.
georgea_1234's review
5.0
A very interesting series of lectures which I read alongside The Republic. Roochnik provides a good breakdown of the historical context with which the dialogues are written, providing insight into the cast of people taking part. He breaks down The Republic into the 10 books that make up the text and provides great insight into the arguments that Plato is engaging in that might not be obvious to the reader. He does well taking the layperson through the arguments and engages in some translation to those parts that don't necessarily seem obvious. A great accompaniment to the text.
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