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.
When I was a child, I thought the United States was the first nation to conduct the grand experiment called democracy. Actually, the United States was over two millennia too late to earn this distinction, but, unlike many Americans today, the founders of our democracy were well-acquainted with the writings of Plato. They understood that the freedom of the democracy in Athens began the experiment that they would continue through their lifetimes; the same experiment that continues today. They sought to answer two central questions: What is true? and What is best?
