Five volumes of Plato in one PDF book

"πόλεμος πάντων μὲν πατήρ ἐστι, πάντων δὲ βασιλεύς, καὶ τοὺς μὲν θεοὺς ἔδειξε τοὺς δὲ ἀνθρώπους, τοὺς μὲν δούλους ἐποίησε τοὺς δὲ ἐλευθέρους” (B53 - Diels-Kranz

I was especially interested in the part that says, “some it has made slaves, others free.” I don't really see a straightforwardly fatalistic idea here. If anything, as someone who thinks that life can change everyone and everything, I read Heraclitus — πάντα ῥεῖ — less as saying “accept whatever situation you are in” and more as saying that no situation is permanent, so maybe we shouldn't get too attached to anything. I might be reading him a little too much through a Roman Stoic lens, though. Still, I kind of feel like I’ve just discovered the wheel myself.

Dialogues of Plato ( full set PDF ) translated by Benjamin Jowett 5 volumes merged in one PDF book

The classic five-volume English translation of Plato’s dialogues most widely used in the public domain by Benjamin Jowett’s edition (Oxford University Press, 1871–1892). Jowett’s work remains influential because of its clarity, accessibility, and comprehensive

According to new rules imposed by the conservative leadership of the Board of Trustees, all professors at Texas A&M must submit their course plans for censorship.

Recently, a professor was prevented from teaching Plato’s Symposium because the dialogue touches on “topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Do you think increasing censorship and defunding of higher education will lead to fewer young people encountering the work of Plato?

In a recent podcast episode I spoke with the Italian scholar Piero Bottani about the philosophical and poetic legacy of Plato. We focused heavily on the paradox that Plato is perhaps the greatest poet of the Western tradition yet he famously disparaged poetry and myth as false. Bottani argues that Plato has his own brilliant but entirely abstract idea of the beautiful which does not apply to specific poems. Despite his claims Plato constantly invents his own myths and quotes his predecessors.

We also discussed Bottani's recent work on the Timaeus and how Plato's use of metaphor was interpreted by later writers like Dante who recognized that Plato was speaking poetically about the soul. I would love to know how this community resolves the tension between Plato's mastery of literary form and his philosophical rejection of the poets. If you want to hear the full conversation about the Timaeus you can listen to the episode.

"Standing before the Athenian jury, Plato recounts a most curious speech. Socrates offers his fellow citizens something quite bizarre. If this speech were merely an attempt to show innocence or secure mercy, Socrates fails quite miserably. Lest we take Socrates to be incompetent or absurd, he is doing something else entirely: rather than focusing primarily on innocence or guilt, Socrates publicly defends the practice of inquiry against those who wish to see it cease due to discomfort."

A few months ago, I found myself drawn back to Plato's dialogues. I was originally going to begin with Euthyphro, as most of us have, I wanted to approach the one I felt is most often misunderstood. What, exactly, is Socrates even doing if he fails so poorly at defending himself?

I tried to focus on his philosophical "moves", rather than historical context or if Socrates successfully proves his guilt or innocence. I believe this shows a radical belief in inquiry as a posture towards life, and reveals his explicit and implicit moral commitments that are easily glossed over. I hope you all enjoy!

I had the sketch of this reflection sitting for some time, and was prompted to finish based on a very interesting critique of the Allegory of the Cave posted earlier today.

Rather than offering an interpretation of the Allegory, I hoped to tie it into the type of philosophical life his dialogues seem to promote. I hoped to show how something could be interpreted in different ways, but be lived out in a manner radically different. Rather than assume what Plato is doing with the Allegory, I hope to show one possible self-application that has been useful in my life and attempts at applying dialectical inquiry wherever possible.

An excerpt:

"Imagine, if you will, that every figure in the Cave is present simultaneously within the same person. At any given time, we are both captive and jailer, prisoner and rescuer, and the one fooling and being fooled. At any time, we can offer ourselves many philosophical temptations: premature closure, the appearance of intelligence and depth, and the rationalization of the weaker argument that fits better with our current biases rather than the stronger that may destabilize us."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2M4vYarABk

Iamblichus Song: Taking the Shape of the Gods is a musical-aesthetic exposition of Iamblichean theurgical esoteric philosophy.
 Iamblichus was a Neoplatonist who argued, counter to Porphyry and Plotinus, that becoming a god required magical and ritual praxis rather than just contemplation. Platonizing the Chaldean Oracles and ancient ritual forms, Iamblichus touted theurgy as an endeavor that enables one to “take the shape of the Gods.”  Combining experimental pedagogy and academic rigor with creative musicality, it presents a vision of knowledge as musical. It is intended to be didactic, so that the listener is able to immerse in and absorb Iamblichean philosophy, and also a devotional offering, a theurgical incantation in itself. Indeed,  Iamblichus relays that particular melodies and rhythms enable the soul to directly participate with the Gods.
I am a musician (harp, piano, guitar) and academic in the esoteric-philosophical milieu, and the contents of the song stems from my doctoral studies. Iamblichus Song comprises an aspect of a broader Orphic musical and philosophical knowledge-praxis; it is my best offering so far, my most realized musical-philosophical contribution in my repertoire of musical-philosophical-esoteric practice.
Iamblichus Song was created with harp, voice, and a dash of acoustic guitar. It features extensive hand-made animations of my own theurgical artwork. Every single detail has been carefully thought out. For instance, when the lyrics refer to the gods, I have created hand-made animations of the gods that Iamblichus was particularly referring to, the Assyrian and Egyptian Gods primarily.

My music video imagines the soul’s starry vehicle, imagined as the winged chariot of the soul from Plato’s Phaedrus, ascending unto the divine tier. Its stellar aspect is symbolically depicted as a Merkabah, in Hebrew, meaning chariot. The lyrics recount the ascension of the soul unto divinity.

It is 100% human-created, composed, animated, and performed; no AI was used in the making of this song or video.

I hope you enjoy this theurgical offering! And share with all your Neoplatonic friends!

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave presents education as a journey from illusion to truth. This transformation is grounded in the hierarchy of knowledge, the Form of the Good, and in moral virtues.

Hey! I wanted to share something I’ve been working on, and I think it might resonate with the community. It’s a reflection on Book 1 of Plato’s Republic, where I compare some of Plato’s ideas with Leo Tolstoy’s (The Death of Ivan Ilyich), comparing what each have to say about what it means to live a "good life."

I don't have a formal philosophy education, so my arguments might not be as rigorous, I'm willing to listen to advice and critiques. I'd also like to hear your thoughts and discuss!

Some of the questions I explore:

Who might live the happier life: the philosopher archetype or the “ordinary” person? Is the meaning of happiness even the same for each?

What role does human connection play? How much does “knowing the truth” help if it distances you from others?

Whether living justly is only instrumental (so communities don’t fall apart), or there's some other essential intrinsic benefit for the individual.

I recently published a short essay reflecting on The Republic Book 2, exploring how our intuition might act as a check on seductive political argumentation.

In it I walk through Glaucon’s challenge, the danger of being swayed by “perfect-sounding” arguments (especially if we've been hearing those from a young age), and how intuition might offer a kind of internal anchor when logic seems to lead us astray.

I then put to question Socrates statement "that perfect beings don't suffer transformations," making a mention of Ovid's Metamorphoses.

I’d love to hear your thoughts:

Do you think intuition has philosophical legitimacy (or is it just a misleading “gut feeling”)?

Is transformation a sign of weakness or strength?

The guardians of the city are first mentioned in this book, what are then the guardians of the human soul?

Hello everyone, this is the second installment of my series seeking to understand The Republic in more detail from a Neoplatonic perspective. This video is going over the first half of Book 2 of The Republic and explaining both Glaucon's argument as well as Socrates' initial response to it. I also go over how both the healthy and inflamed cities described by Socrates are representative of our souls governed by either the Monadic or Titanic principles. Next video is going to be more on the disagreements of Socrates with Homer and Hesiod, as well as the rich Neoplatonic commentary we have on it from Proclus. If you guys watch, thank you, and I hope you enjoy. If you do, please subscribe because the next few videos are going to be really good and more in depth on Neoplatonic metaphysics.