Why Plato Matters Now

The ancient Greek philosopher has much to say about contemporary issues relating to politics, speech, knowledge, and living well, according to this stimulating exploration. University of Sheffield philosophy professor Hobbs (Plato’s Republic) revisits key arguments from Plato’s fourth-century BCE dialogues, wherein Socrates and his interlocutors hash out philosophical conundrums—a dramatic way of drawing readers in and modeling the sort of honest debate that’s sorely lacking today, the author notes. Topics covered include Plato’s theory of ideal forms—of goodness, beauty, even couches—that exist independently of physical reality (and help thinkers seek objective truth that facilitates mutual understanding), and Plato’s model of the mind as a balance between reason, glory-seeking, and materialism. Though Plato’s antipathy to democracy and free artistic expression seems an affront to modern values, Hobbs credits him with a spot-on critique of democracy’s vulnerability to populism (he dreaded, Hobbs writes, the “opportunistic demagogue... pretending to be the people’s champion” who rises on the strength of “extravagant promises” that “intoxicate” supporters). Hobbs’s Plato is complex, ironic, and cagey, sometimes obscuring his real views to force readers to exercise their own interpretive muscles, and deeply informed by his sometimes hair-raising life (which included almost being killed by rulers he tried to counsel). Even those who may have yawned their way through Plato’s writings in the past will be captivated. (Oct.)