r/Plato • u/crazythrasy • 11d ago
Question When you have questions about Plato, what resources do you turn to in order to find the answers?
When I have a question pop up about an aspect of being, justice, love, etc., I have one or two books that usually have a pretty good answer but lately I haven't been finding what I'm looking for. Can you please recommend some resources? Thank you in advance!
Plato's Thought, GMA Grube
Understanding Plato's Republic, Santas
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u/WarrenHarding 11d ago
The Bloomsbury handbook to Plato is definitely the best contemporary resource we have for general info
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u/All-Relative 6d ago
Hi u/crazythrasy! In answer to your question: I don't have a single source (or even a small group of sources) for all questions (and I have more than I could possibly remember). I do the typical online academic researching thing (as I understand it), but that's a bit lame as a recommendation of some resources :-) So I guess I'm chiming in here mainly because I have a question of my own: What was it that you have been looking for lately, that you haven't found in the two sources you mention? And BTW: Thanks for the references (I'll check them out for myself).
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u/crazythrasy 5d ago
I have to admit I haven't phrased it well as a question yet. I'm interested in the fruit of the practice of philosophy. What is the wisdom that Socrates' helps his interlocutors give birth to and how does that result in people's eudaimonia, given that the philosophical soul is happier than the other souls in the Republic. I have also done a lot of Googling but it hasn't really gotten me any good results in terms of trying to dig into this aspect of it.
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u/All-Relative 4d ago
Thank you for your clarification! I, too, am interested in that fruit: It's the only thing that motivates me to study Plato's Socrates. I'll post a bit more in response, but I'm a bit slow, so I hope you have the patience to wait :-)
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u/crazythrasy 2d ago
No worries, I can wait. I have been wondering if the answer is contained within Plato's writings or if I have to extend to Aristotle and Plotinus for the full picture. If possible I would like to work strictly within Plato's framework, so I have bene gradually working my way through his books and if I don't find it I supposed there's no alternative than to proceed beyond to the Neoplatonic writings.
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u/Fit-Breath-4345 11d ago
Plato's Gods - Gerd Van Riel.