The modern world is preoccupied with correctness in its views of nature, government, economy and culture but at an unacceptable price. We find nature blind and indifferent and we now see culture as anything legally allowed. This insightful study examines the philosophy leading us here while showing how to change it. If we accept the integral role of mockery in truth we gain a more comprehensive view of ourselves and the world. In a perceptive study of four dialogues of Plato---the ones telling the story of Socrates' defense of philosophy----we find a pattern for our own growth. This book calls for renewed faith in an educated perception and in noble self-development. It speaks to discovering "heart and soul, not in an aesthetic diversion but in the nature of everything around us."
Plato’s great discovery was radically new but has echoed down the ages. His “theory of Ideas” has shaped the whole of Western culture and his name is known worldwide. More than 2000 years ago Plato used his “allegory of the cave” – which envisaged people looking at shadows on a cavern wall and taking them for realities – to express a terrible suspicion. He saw his fellow Athenians living in a manipulated world of appearances – cut off from reality and “put to sleep” by material pleasures, wealth and demagogic politicians – and hoped, with this image, to shake them out of this sleep. Plato’s suspicions here are astonishingly relevant still in our Digital Age. Do we not also risk getting entirely lost in the shadows and projections of our TV-, Internet- and mobile-phone-dominated lives? To know truth, argued Plato, Man must learn to see again with his “inner eye”. We are able to sense the truth if we succeed in looking beyond the mere appearances. For behind the everyday objects that surround us, and the immediately visible world, there is another (invisible) reality, a sort of higher level of Being, which can reveal to us the world as it truly is. This second, higher reality is the realm of the “Ideas”: above all the Ideas of the Good, the True and the Beautiful by which we must be guided in our lives. But what exactly are these Ideas? Where do they come from? What does Plato mean when he speaks of “the Good”? And, most importantly, how can we know this “Good” and live a life in accordance with it? The book Plato in 60 Minutes uses three of Plato’s marvellous allegories – “the chariot”, “the sun”, and “the cave” – to explain the philosopher’s fascinating vision of the Ideas. But it also presents, citing key passages, Plato’s great political vision of an ideal state ruled by philosopher-kings. Finally, in a chapter on “what use Plato’s discovery is for us today”, it is shown how burningly relevant the ancient philosopher’s thoughts still are. The book forms part of the popular series Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes.
These dialogues contain the core concepts of Platonic philosophy and serve as a good introduction to the legacy of Socrates and philosophy in the golden age of Greece. In the first of the dialogues Euthyphro and Socrates discuss and try to define allegiance. Euthyphro charges his father of murder of one of his workers; as Socrates is also being charged with impiety he hopes to learn a thing or two from Euthyphro. Apology is Plato's version of Socrates's speech at his trial in his own defense. Crito in the third dialogue discusses with Socrates the power of justice and offers to help Socrates escape from prison. In Meno, Socrates and Meno cover virtue, and whether or not this is something that can be taught and if there is a common virtue in everyone. And finally, Phaedo, who was present at Socrates's death, relates what happened in his final moments.
For centuries China has fueled the creative imagination and inspired fashion. This stunning publication explores the influence of Chinese art, film, and aesthetics on international fashion designers, including Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Alexander McQueen, and Yves Saint Laurent.
This collection of unique portraits by British born, New York based fashion photographer Platon includes over 120 photographs constituting a unique and dynamic cross-section through the cult of fame and power.
