Cesar Mendoza(!)’s Reviews > Plato: Complete Works > Status Update

Just finished the Parmenides. The whole dialogue is about nature of the One. The language is very difficult and I’m not sure I could fully get my head around it even if I were an expert in Ancient Greek.

There are leaps of logic that I thought were comical, like they made assumptions that don’t necessarily follow, but I can see where this might later lead to medieval speculation about the nature of God etc

Finished the Symposium. I was shocked at how good this was. Each character makes a speech in praise of love and each voice is so clear. Then Socrates gets up, picks up the best threads of each and bests them all. Finally Alcibiades gushes about his big crush on Socrates.

I had a giggle at how the explanatory essay from the 1930s twists itself in knots to explain how these relationships aren’t gay (no really).

Just finished the Protagoras. It’s weird. I found myself agreeing with Protagoras quite a bit as Plato put commonsense arguments in his mouth, which his Socrates then tore apart. Thing is, it seems to hinge on Ancient Greek wordplay, which is lost in translation.

Next onto the Symposium!

Just finished the Phaedo. I didn’t expect to be moved emotionally by a philosophical dialogue of all things. All of Socrates’ friends cared about him so much and their grief seemed so real.

Also, I’m pretty sure this dialogue is where the ideas of the immortal soul, heaven, hell and judgement in the afterlife come from. They’re sort of there in the New Testament if you squint, but also not really. Huh.

Just finished the Meno. It’s mostly about whether goodness/virtue can be taught. To prove a point Socrates also casually tricks a little kid into deriving a geometric proof by asking him a series of simple questions. My mind was suitably blown.

Finished the Gorgias. This one made the ultimate point that it’s better to BE good than to APPEAR good. It also hinted at ancient Greek notions of the afterlife and being judged on how good a person you were before being sent to a “heaven” or “hell” (though they used different terms). It was interesting, but like all the other dialogues didn’t get going until right near the end

Finished the Gorgias. This one made the ultimate point that it’s better to BE good than to APPEAR good. It also hinted at ancient Greek notions of the afterlife and being judged on how good a person you were before being sent to a “heaven” or “hell” (though they used different terms). It was interesting, but like all the other dialogues didn’t get going until right near the end

Just finished the explanatory essay for the Gorgias. The jokes hitting better in the original Greek is a recurring theme

Just finished the Euthydemus. These dialogues are frustrating. They churn like murky water with occasional flashes of brilliance that shine through briefly and are lost again. Just when it’s getting good, it ends.

Read the essay for the Euthydemus. It looks like I’m in for a bunch more of Socrates clowning on his intellectual enemies with jokes we barely understand. Seriously, he HATES these guys and everything they stand for.