Plato
Greek · -428–-348
Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates, and teacher of Aristotle. His dialogues — including The Republic, Phaedo, and The Symposium — form one of the foundational texts of Western philosophy. His theory of Forms posited a realm of perfect, abstract entities of which earthly things are mere imperfect copies, a metaphysics later picked up by Christian theology and a recurring foil for empiricist critique.
Books
Episodes
Fleeting mentions
- 65. Walking away from 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas'
- 59. Stefan Zweig's The Royal Game: What's the ultimate desert island book?
- 42. Everything is Illuminated: Cultural Learnings of Trachimbrod for Make Benefit Glorious Book Club
- 41. Truth of Fact, Truth of Fiction: Is Ted Chiang a Luddite?
- 36. Emily Wilson's The Odyssey, part 1: Bronze age perversion
- 34. Blood Meridian, part 2: It's time for some game theory
- 31. The Moviegoer: In which we escape a deep existential malaise
- 21. The Tragedy of Hamlet: The O.G. annoying theatre kid
- 16. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, part 1: Post-nut clarity and forbidden knowledge
- 12. W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge, part 1: Nobody loafs like Larry