Coffee with Plato

Coffee with...

by Donald R. Moor, Robert M. Pirsig (Foreword by)

Around 428 BC, Plato was born into one of Athens’s most aristocratic
 families, and ultimately gathered around him some of the greatest minds of his age. Travel back to ancient Greece with Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Donald R. Moor and author Robert M. Pirsig ( Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ) to meet this legendary thinker. In addition to expanding upon his famous allegory of the cave, Plato talks about learning through dialogue, the primacy of good and the price of wrong doing, democracy, freedom and censorship, women’s equality, love, and mathematics, and the search for truth.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

144 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 2007

Reviews

[Igpy Kin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's good enough for what it is — a brief introduction to Plato you can read in a sitting — but the conceit of the author having a conversation with Plato sometimes comes off as cheesy or overly self-conscious, and I'm skeptical of a book that seems to include some hypotheses about debatable territory re: Plato's intentions and beliefs without including the rationale behind those hypotheses. Also, this book was my first clue that I would probably want to punch Plato in the face if I met him so. That was a downer, I guess.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only got through half of it even though it‘s short. The writing style didn’t catch me at all. Was tough to get through this far…

[Jukang Liwayway · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book if you want a quickie with Plato. Though I can't say I agree to everything Plato believed in.

[Madeline Zehnal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenging but thought provoking.

[Dayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things I have learnt from this book:
• Plato quite literally condones throwing atheists to a pack of wolves if they do not "keep their opinions to themselves". What the heckadoodle
• Socrates was..gay??!!
• Plato supports homosexuals heh very nice
• He was sort of a feminist, but for very logical and political reasons which is YEET
• He can be a prick. Or perhaps it's the way his persona was portrayed by the author.
• I learnt a little bit about the basics of Eros VS Philia love. Also how erotic love relates and transcends to the love of politics and government. Something so off tangent one wouldn't think of it like that. Very good stuff. The most fascinating theory of his which I will definitely be reading up more on.
•. Learnt more about The Cave allegory which is always dank
• Theory of Forms is not that straightforward after all... What is man, man.
• This dude was a total mathematics nerd.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good introduction to Plato although the concept is a bit juvenile and silly.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 αστεράκια για την ακρίβεια.
Πρακτικό για όποιον θέλει να μάθει κάποια βασικά πράγματα για τον Πλάτωνα και τις Ιδέες του!

[Adil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Platon yaşıyormuş gibi ona sorular sorup cevaplar verdirmiş yazar. Eğlendirici bir format ve kitabı bilgilendirici de buldum, her ne kadar ciddi bir Platon çalışması için düşünülecek bir kaynak olmasa da.

[Galatea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, short read about the life and work of Plato, appropriately framed as a dialogue.

[Tabitha Immanuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light introduction to Plato's philosophy.

[Ruby Jusoh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this. A simplified version of Plato's teachings and a good start for me to know more. Would recommend this to anyone who is interested in philosophy but does not know much about it.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful introduction to the great philosopher Plato. Donald Moor has conducted a significant amount of research into Plato's life, friendships, beliefs and career. Predicting how the philosopher would answer to questions in an interview...

I'd love to have coffee would Plato, but it vaporised during time travel. :P

[Sneha · Rating 3 out of 5]

i picked this up after reading [book:Coffee with Oscar Wilde|531901... and it gives a wonderful insight on various topics like democracy, women's rights, love and even mathematics. a good read for both who have read plato and works on him before, or philosophy noobs :)

[Marsha]

One of the best books I ever read. It inspired me
to develope intrest in Philosophy.

[Atif Hussain · Rating 2 out of 5]

gives the basic information about Plato and his ideologies.

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, breezy little intro to Plato's ideas.

[r0b · Rating 2 out of 5]

mediocre