In the latest issue of the journal of the Acton Institute, I wrote about the academy, Plato, philosophy—on the occasion of a new translation of the Letters. Here’s a taste of some shocking statements:
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. It always amazed me that Plato's letters weren't taught or even mentioned in our philosophy classes, even as we studied his Dialogues so carefully.
It's just hard to deal with their fragmentary character; maybe the tone, too, which is rather tragic than comic; maybe even the notion is unacceptable, Plato is trying & failing, he's forcing you to face his difficulties founding a school, dealing with benefactors...
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. It always amazed me that Plato's letters weren't taught or even mentioned in our philosophy classes, even as we studied his Dialogues so carefully.
It's just hard to deal with their fragmentary character; maybe the tone, too, which is rather tragic than comic; maybe even the notion is unacceptable, Plato is trying & failing, he's forcing you to face his difficulties founding a school, dealing with benefactors...