Introducing Plato

To my surprise, the author expresses strongly negative opinions towards some of Plato's conclusions, while maintaining that Plato "asked the right questions." The author presents Plato as a proto-fascist. Plato's theories of the forms are muddled, and Aristotle was wise to clarify or dispense with them. Laws was a horrid work which formed an unfortunate ending to Plato's writings. I find the author's opinions to be eminently reasonable. His views represent a common-sense approach to Plato. The author, too, asks the right questions.

The book is great at giving a feel for who the whole of Plato was as a person. The book is not so great at explaining all of the theories of Plato. The book is somewhat educational. Sometimes the writing is slanted. Sometimes the jokes are too obtuse. The author is often mocking the philospher more than adoring him. But, it's entertaining none the less.

Make sure to read the Aristotle book first, then hit this one. Two good reads.

I read "Introducing Plato" last night. I picked it up at the book store because Plato is referenced repeatedly in "Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand". "Introducing Plato" covers many of the ancient Greek philosophers of the period and shows how they influenced or were influenced by Plato. It covers his life, his philosophy, and his influence through the ages. By reading "Introducing Plato", I now have a far better understanding of Objectivist philosophy. Before I read this book, I found some of Rand's terminology a bit odd but now I realize that she was engaged in a conversation with the ancient philosophers that I had walked in on toward the end. I also see where she agrees and where she deviates with them on the important questions. I would recommend "Introducing Plato" to any student of Objectivism that has not previously studied the ancients. Ayn Rand was no fan of Plato. She prefers to praise Aristotle, his student of twenty years. I see that a second edition of "Introducing Aristotle" in coming out in 2006 August. I am looking forward to it.

This is the first book from the "Introducing..." series that I have read, and I am impressed. At first glance the books in this series may perhaps look a bit simplistic as each page has a large cartoon style drawing with about a paragraph of text, but distilling the essence of a subject and presenting it in an accessible format is not very easy to do at all, and it is done here remarkably well. "Introducing Plato" is not an exhaustive treatment of Plato and his philosophy - and it is no substitute for reading the dialogues - but what it does excellently is delineate the ground covered by Plato, places it in historical and social context, and brings home the relevance and impact of the philosophy on todays world. The authors also cover some of the subsequent criticisms of Plato's ideas, and some of the weaknesses and contradictions in Plato's work when viewed as a whole. If you are interested in reading the dialogues, this book is an excellent little companion that I recommend reading first for some context. It packs a lot of information in very accessible format, and I will certainly be seeking out more of the books in the series.