Plato of Athens (Reading group, meeting #1)

Dear Philosophers of Kingston,

I will be running a new reading group from August-October (1 meeting per month, for 3 months) in Lake Ontario Park on Robin Waterfield's book Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy. This read will be a bit more challenging (but also rewarding) than some of the shorter books we have read. Basically you have to be curious about/interested in Plato and life in Ancient Greece as it is a deep dive into Plato's life.

The book is available from amazon.ca here. Hardcover is $30, paperback comes out in July for $22.

For our first meeting in August we will cover:

• Introduction
• The Sources
• 1. Growing Up in Wartime Athens
• 2. The Intellectual Environment

From the publisher's description of the book:

• The first ever biography of the founder of Western philosophy
• Considered by many to be the most important philosopher ever, Plato was born into a well-to-do family in wartime Athens at the end of the fifth century BCE. In his teens, he honed his intellect by attending lectures from the many thinkers who passed through Athens and toyed with the idea of writing poetry. He finally decided to go into politics, but became disillusioned, especially after the Athenians condemned his teacher, Socrates, to death. Instead, Plato turned to writing and teaching. He began teaching in his twenties and later founded the Academy, the world's first higher-educational research and teaching establishment. Eventually, he returned to practical politics and spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to create a constitution for Syracuse in Sicily that would reflect and perpetuate some of his political ideals. The attempts failed, and Plato's disappointment can be traced in some of his later political works.
• In his lifetime and after, Plato was considered almost divine. Though a measure of his importance, this led to the invention of many tall tales about him-both by those who adored him and his detractors. In this first ever full-length portrait of Plato, Robin Waterfield steers a judicious course among these stories, debunking some while accepting the kernels of truth in others. He explains why Plato chose to write dialogues rather than treatises and gives an overview of the subject matter of all of Plato's books. Clearly and engagingly written throughout, Plato of Athens is the perfect introduction to the man and his work.

Video interview with the author:

# Who Was The REAL Plato of Athens?

Hope to see some of you there. Please be sure to bring a lawn chair, and head towards the sheltered area with the bathrooms, we will be sitting behind that structure under a tree.

Cheers,
Colin