Publication date:
09 February 2012Length of book:
512 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9780739171387
In this unique and important book, William Altman shines a light on the pedagogical technique of the playful Plato, especially his ability to create living discourses that directly address the student. Reviving an ancient concern with reconstructing the order in which Plato intended his dialogues to be taught as opposed to determining the order in which he wrote them, Altman breaks with traditional methods by reading Plato’s dialogues as a multiplex but coherent curriculum in which the Allegory of the Cave occupies the central place. His reading of Plato's Republic challenges the true philosopher to choose the life of justice exemplified by Socrates and Cicero by going back down into the Cave of political life for the sake of the greater Good.
Plato the Teacher constitutes a major contribution to Plato studies and is striking in its profundity and originality. For Altman, Plato is first and foremost an educator, constructing his corpus as a whole and the Republic in particular so as to maximize their pedagogic punch. An educator can only be an altruist, and, for Altman, Plato’s altruism forms the very core of the Republic, whose essential ethical teaching for us all is found in Socrates’ directive to the philosopher-kings: 'You must go down.' Plato the Teacher abounds in startlingly fresh readings of passages that have grown stale, and is infused with clarity, erudition, and passion.