Tired of wading through dense translations of Plato that make you feel like you need a philosophy degree just to understand the table of contents? This book has you covered. Plato in Plain English takes the greatest hits of the world’s most influential philosopher — the Forms, the Allegory of the Cave, Platonic love, the Demiurge, the World-Soul, and more — and explains them the way your smartest (and slightly sarcastic) friend would over coffee. Inside, you’ll find: A breezy tour of Plato’s life, from privileged Athenian aristocrat to the founder of the Academy. Why so many of his works are dialogues (spoiler: they’re not actual interviews). A closer look at love, beauty, and the awkward role of pederasty in ancient Athens. Plato’s wild ideas about triangles, cosmic harmony, and the universe as a giant living animal. His complicated afterlife as a proto-Christian, an authoritarian dreamer, and a pop culture meme. What happened when his star student, Aristotle, spent 20 years taking notes and then said, “Nice try, teacher — but no.” Whether you’re curious about philosophy, looking to impress someone at a party, or just want to know why The Matrix owes a debt to a guy in a toga, this book breaks Plato down without breaking your brain. Plato was wrong about almost everything — but gloriously wrong in ways that shaped two millennia of thought. And now you can finally see why, without having to suffer through untranslated Greek.
