February 05, 2004
What do you think of Plato?
I'm reading Karl Popper's Open Society and Its Enemies, which contains one of the most negative characterizations of Plato ever written. Years ago, I had read ¨"Επίκουρος: Η Αληθινή Όψη του Αρχαίου Κόσμου", (Epicurus: the true aspect of the ancient world), by Charalampos Theodoridis, a great introduction to Epicureanism which had as one of its main themes the opposition of progressive Ionian science/Epicureanism with regressive Platonism/Christianity. And of course, having read quite a bit of the writings of the Objectivists I am well-aware that Plato, together with Kant, Marx and few others are considered to be the arch-villains of intellectual history. Of course anti-Platonism is nothing new: in the Renaissance it was critiqued as anti-Christian, i.e., the reversal of the Charalambidis critique who saw Plato as an ur-Christian.
Plato is of course one of the few Greek writers that students are likely to read, now that Homer has been killed, both by the "practical" concerns of the modern age, as well as by the irrelevance that is characteristic of modern scholarship. So, I'm very interested to see what people think of Plato in 2004.
If you don't know who Plato is, you can read some of his works here.
Posted by Dienekes at February 5, 2004 01:31 AM | PermaLink
I voted positive because though I'm thinking he made many faults in his thinking he was still a necessary and good inspiration for many philosophers.
BTW your voting function that way that each person can vote as often as he wants.
I voted just ones ^^
I read quite a bit of Plato when I was young, but I have long come to view all philosophy as an art form, so I voted neutral. I think I prefer Aristotle to Plato, and Strato of Lampsachus to both.
Posted by: Dick Thompson at February 5, 2004 05:40 PMOf course anti-Platonism is nothing new: in the Renaissance it was critiqued as anti-Christian, i.e., the reversal of the Charalambidis critique who saw Plato as an ur-Christian
In a modern update to this, William Saletan of Slate links it to neo-conservatism!
Posted by: Jason Malloy at February 9, 2004 12:34 PMAs far as I know neo-conservatives are disciples of Leo Strauss who wrote much about Plato, and seems to have admired him greatly. Leo Strauss's Platonism was however a strange one, since he believed that what Plato says "on the surface" is a smokescreen for his real theory which is expressed by minor characters in his dialogues, e.g., Thrasymachus ("Might is Just") in the Republic.
Posted by: Dienekes at February 9, 2004 11:26 PM