Plato for Beginners

This concise overview is an easy introduction to Plato, highlighting his Theory of Forms and political ideals. The mini-book does it in the context of the times, explaining Greek history along the way. While many claim, "All of philosophy is a footnote to Plato", the book does justice to post-Greek philosophy, highlighting where Plato's logic lead him wrong. The book isn't in depth, but it never was intended to be. It's a great 1-2 hour read for those (like this reader) who want an introduction to the great thinker.

This terrific book is a light and easy read, but contains more information about Plato than I've learned in any other introductory philosophy book. (Did you know that at one point in his life, Plato was taken prisoner by pirates and sold as a slave?) The explanation of The Forms is more clear than I've seen elsewhere. The book starts with background information on Greek culture and the life of Socrates. Then comes a biographical account of Plato's life, works and travels. Interspersed are summaries of some of his major works, including The Thaetetus, The Phaedrus, The Symposium, The Republic, The Timaeus, and The Laws. Highly recommended for neophytes!

I guess you get out of this book what you bring to it. Having already been familiar with most of Plato's teachings, as well as his times, I found this volume to be a delightful refresher course. Instead of a dry, condensed outline it is a humorous and original comprehensive overview. Cavalier obviously knows his dialogs- I found no "dumbing down" here. Those teachers of mine that stressed that if one wanted to be "truly educated" one had to be familiar with Plato's teachings were absolutely correct. When you start digging into subjects of true and lasting worth you always end up back at Plato. When I was younger I would have laughed at the idea that some "dry as dust" Greek philosopher could ever be meaningful to me. You see, I confused Plato's philosophy with the "dry as dust" approach that passes for philosophy in modern times. Plato himself not only asked what Truth, Justice, and Beauty were- he actually came to know that they really existed as Ultimates. The same with Good- he knew it existed. Plato accepted the validity of omens, dreams, the Mysteries, and the pre-existence of the human soul, as well as, an afterlife. It was Plato who gave us the concept of "heaven." In fact, if you examine the words that were put in Christ's mouth in the New Testament you find that every statement is a paraphrase of Plato. As for political matters, Plato believed that concern over one's own wealth and power was the source of most conflict, and that the goal of any system of laws and government should be making all people as happy and friendly as possible- and not merely a privileged elite. I can't help but speculate on how different western culture would have been if Plato's undiluted teachings, or even Plotinus' neoplatonism, had been the real spiritual core of our civilization.

Like other "for Beginner" books, the Plato version is also an excellent and concise overview for those who want a quick read. Illustrations aren't anything to marvel at, but they do make for a more interesting book. Despite the negative criticism in other reviews (such as that posed by the Seattle reader,) I recommend the book highly. As for spelling mistakes, that is easily explained because it is meant foremost for a British audience where words such as center are spelled centre. No big deal. TLC