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Phaedrus and Letters VII and VIII

plato walter hamilton

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In the Phaedrus Plato(427-347 B.C.) is concerned with establishing the principles of rhetoric.

Through the mouths of Socrates and Phaedrus he argues that rhetoric is only acceptable as an art when it is firmly based on the truth inspired by love, the common experience of true philosophic activity. It is in this dialogue that Plato employs the famous image of love as the driver of the chariot of souls.

The seventh and eight letters (which are accepted as genuine amongst those attributed to Plato) provide fascinating glimpses into the contemporary power struggle in Sicily and evidence his failure to put into practice his theory of philosopher-king.

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1973

This edition

Format
160 pages, Paperback
Published
January 1, 1973 by Viking Pr
ISBN
9780140442755
ASIN
0140442758
Language
English

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plato

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Plato (Greek: Πλάτων), born Aristocles (c. 427 – 348 BC), was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. He raised problems for what became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Platonic Academy, a philosophical school in Athens where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known as Platonism.
Plato's most famous contribution is the theory of forms (or ideas), which has been interpreted as advancing a solution to what is now known as the problem of universals. He was decisively influenced by the pre-Socratic thinkers Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself.
Along with his teacher Socrates, and Aristotle, his student, Plato is a central figure in the history of philosophy. Plato's entire body of work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years—unlike that of nearly all of his contemporaries. Although their popularity has fluctuated, they have consistently been read and studied through the ages. Through Neoplatonism, he also greatly influenced both Christian and Islamic philosophy. In modern times, Alfred North Whitehead famously said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato."

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Rating(4.2 / 5.0, 26 votes)
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Profile Image for Kimberly .
AbiSa
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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Phaedrus is a dialogue between Phaedrus and Socrates, in which Socrates argues that good rhetoricians need to know the truth of what they're arguing. Rhetoricians who are ignorant of the truth are likely to be misled by their own arguments. (And here I couldn't help but think of Stephen Colbert and truthiness!) For my purposes (discussing orality vs. literacy), the key part of Phaedrus is the last five or six pages, in which Socrates argues that writing is inferior to oral dialogue because oral speakers can tailor arguments to the audience, enter into dialogue with listeners, etc. while writers cannot.
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dadnaya
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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I read parts of this in college and while some were nodding off to sleep, I found it INCREDIBLY interesting and found that I liked trying to analyze the philosophical dialogues and letters that Plato wrote. I look forward to going back to it one of these days...
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Sleepypups
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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'What we talk about when we talk about love,' Plato-style.

Turns out we're talking about the relationship our soul had with the heavens, beauty and divine truth before it 'lost its wings' and entered our body. Who knew?
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DOFlamingo98
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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Perhaps it is the translation, but this reads surprisingly well. Having done philosophy 40 years ago and dipped into Plato, it is interesting to go back and try to understand which he was so influential. I think it is true to say that the Greeks were the first society to have a written culture, and this perhaps what makes this little volume so persuasive.

This is fairly easy to read, the actual Greek is kept to a minimum and restricted to clarification of the choice of alternate key terms such as strategos and tyrannous, or place and person names.
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-light420-
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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The Phaedrus helped me understand Plato better after diving into his other great dialogues. I observed Plato further developing his stance on love, distinguishing it from the love we commonly understand, such as romantic, erotic, familial, etc.

One dumb impression I had, much like in Symposium, is that his descriptions of love come across as though he is intent on redefining love to his standards, almost as if he did not fit in with the classical notions of love in his time. It has that "I'm quirky" or, "I'm not like the other girls" energy. But these are the kind of remarks my mind spawns at me as I wash dishes. 

More seriously, I've been fond of Plato's exposition on absolute love from the Symposium ever since I first encountered it in a first-year philosophy course. The way he develops this notion within his metaphysical framework is intriguing. If I were to create a theory to describe reality, love wouldn't be my first choice--yet that boy Platon makes it foundational, and somehow it is compelling. When I encounter metaphysical frameworks, they often struggle with ethical grounding, but Plato’s perspective nails that part from the outset. 

Overall, reading both the Phaedrus and the letters, I've come away with a view of Plato as a more compassionate and ethical figure than I had previously imagined. I think I now understand why we call it 'platonic love,' but I also see how the popular notion is just a shallow interpretation of Plato's original idea. The kind of love he describes isn't merely a relationship devoid of romantic interest, as we often interpret it today. Instead, it represents the most intellectually transformative type of connection, one that guides two individuals toward the Form of Beauty, and eventually to the Forms of Truth and the Good. I've yet to gauge how realistic such a relationship is, but even as an ideal, it presents a picture of love that is worth aspiring to. At the moment of writing this, I'm struggling to recall a more thoughtful or beautiful perspective on love than Plato's, though I might be biased due to how well it resonated with me.

As for letters VII & VIII, man what a drama. Especially the former, straight up an episode of Game of Thrones. I'm disregarding the latter because of how questionable its authenticity is and because most of its contents are already touched on in the letter VII. There, I gotta say, I received an important tip from Plato: I gotta doubt all of his written work when it comes to his view of reality. Thanks a lot my guy. Could've mentioned that earlier, you know....
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Sebastian333
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 1,2025
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As far as Phaedrus itself goes, it was fine, more or less unremarkable for Plato. The whole thing felt a little less sure of itself than his other dialogues; this is a timid and reluctant Socrates compared to his usual self-assuredness.

The real valuable part of this work was the seventh letter (I found nothing of value in the eighth, and highly doubt its authenticity). It is really interesting that the people who put this book together chose to combine Phaedrus and VII, I think they work really well in tandem (it might be a common choice, I'm not going to bother to check). The Seventh's focus on the forms and its admonishment that real learning can't be done through reading but only through direct conversation absolutely explains some of the thinking behind what Socrates was saying in the dialogue.
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