/lit/ - Literature

What's that book about all the philosophers just hanging out and bickering? I forget.

>philosopher kings having orgies with unlimited wives and as many kids as possible should rule the republic

Imagine being able to read in 400BC. This guy is an alien. My grandfather was born in 1910 and was illiterate

Just finish Plato's The Republic

What I just read was a deeply frustrating story about how an old man conjures a utopian, quasi fascist society, in which men like him, should be the rulers, should dictate what art and ideas people consume, should be allowed to breed with young beautiful women while simultaneously escaping any responsibility in raising the offspring. Go figure.

The conversation is so artificial you could be forgiven for thinking Plato made up Socrates. Socrates dispels genuine criticism with elaborate flimsy analogies that the opponents barely even attempt to refute but instead buckle in grovelling awe or shameful silence. Sometimes I get the feeling his opponents are just agreeing and appeasing him because they're keeping one eye on the sun dial and sensing if he doesn't stop soon we'll miss lunch.

Jokes aside, for 2,500 years I think it's fair to say there's a few genuinely insightful and profound thoughts between the wisdom waffle and its impact on western philosophy is undeniable. But no other book will ever make you want to build a time machine, jump back 2,500 years, and scream at Socrates to get to the point!

Unless you're really curious about the history of philosophy, I'd steer well clear of this book.