Starting with Socrates and Plato

The first publishing season for this blog will examine The Project Gutenberg Works of Plato: An Index compiled and edited by David Widger. Starting with the thoughts and arguments of Socrates as recorded by Plato and moving on to Plato's own ideas, these writings are widely considered to be the foundation of western thought and have had a profound influence on how modern man views and interacts with the world. It is also interesting to note that the incubator for the thoughts of these two men was the direct democracy of the Greek city-state of Athens

As a child and even as a high school student, I had considered the United States to be the nation that had first conducted the grand experiment called democracy. The United States was over two millennia too late for this distinction, but, unlike many Americans today, the formers of our democracy were well-acquainted with the writings of Plato. They understood that the freedom of the democracy in Athens allowed the beginning of a dialogue that would continue through their lifetimes; the same discussions continue today. These discussions center on two questions: 1) What is true? 2) What is best?

Arguments concerning faith, diplomacy, government, economics, education, parenting, and most any point of human contention are seeking the answer to these two questions. It is comforting to know that my generation doesn't have to start from scratch in order to form a foundation on which to answer these questions when faced with seemingly limitless scenarios. It is disconcerting, however, to know that my generation is currently making decisions based on piecemeal ideologies collected from a variety of sources with varying levels of reliability without examination or reflection. Examination and reflection are the intellectual tools that I choose to wield against ignorance, believing that there is great value in seeking what is true and what is best.