hey lads, anyone got recs for secondary literature for plato?

I'm in a similar boat, having read most of Plato and starting to look for some commentaries.

I've started touching base with the Bloomsbury Companion to Plato (sometimes called the Continuum Companion for some reason). 1-2 page synopses of all the dialogues, and then like 300 pages of commentaries on major themes throughout the texts.

Also have been considering the Cambridge Companion to Plato to get a smattering of essays not too heavily focused on any single aspect of his works.

Finally I glanced at "Plato's Second Sailing," which is specifically about the Republic, but I'm hesitant to get drawn into commentaries with such (relatively) specific scopes, as I'm sure there's no end to commentaries on Plato, and you could spend the rest of your life sifting through mountains of shit you probably don't need to ever read.

>perhaps after reading the dialogues 2-3 times so platofags dont bitch at me

You know Plato is like 1700 pages right? Just annotate while you read and summarize afterwards; you don't want to spend your whole life reading Plato (probably).

Also at least the first two books I mentioned are easily pirated, but let me know if you have trouble with that and want me to upload a pdf to mega or whatever.

Socrate's second sailing is by benardete, who is notoriously cryptic. It's a great book on the Republic, but I thought it was very advanced.

The upper level straussians are writing esoterically themselves, revealing their true opinions pretending like they're philosophers themselves.

I don't have any big recommendations for a companion on all of plato, it seems like such an enormous undertaking. I would read a dialogue and then read a bit about that dialogue.

Maybe Zuckert 'Plato's Philosophers' but thats a huge book. Still, it covers many of the dialogues.

I've liked essays like On The Euthyprho by Strauss in the Rebirth of classical political rationalism.

On the Symposium, I like the book Eros and Polis by Ludwig, gives a different perspective than that exoteric bullshit. Also strauss's lectures series on the symposium is dope.

Bloom's essay on the Republic, also Benardete.

I would recommend a dialogue by dialogue approach to secondary lit. There's so much in Plato, do you really want to know the significance of the fourth letter fits in the whole? Or the Menexus. Only a handful of people on the planet can answer those with any coherence.

what makes plato compelling is in the ambiguity of his stories, the drama and action of the dialogues. Some philosophers like Kant try and give a framework through which to understand the world, others contribute by probing questions

It's important to remember that Socrates very often gives contradictory views. And Plato never speaks (although he is present in a couple dialogues).

Point is, I think it's better to find "Plato" by heavily researching one or two dialogues, then adding others as they become relevant.

For example, the Republic might lead you to the Symposium, which then would lead you to the Lysis, etc.

So for secondary lit, I would find highly regarded essays or books about a single dialogue. Read that, get a feel for how Plato subtly plumbs the depths of a matter, read some other perspectives, and then move on.

I think specifics are more interesting, but I am considering studying plato for the rest of my life so I'm biased.

Heidegger and Wittgenstein have a lot to say about Plato, if only indirectly. Plato asks, through Socrates, "what is courage, what is an ideal government, what is justice," etc... But Heidy and Witty would ask, is "what is...?" a valid question. For Heidegger, Plato's forms are merely one appearance of the unfolding of being, that there is no "essence," and Wittgenstein has a similar view, but he takes a more psychological/sociological view. I'm not sure what to recommend from them exactly, but they have a lot to say.

>>8438062
that picture fuckedme up. top-tier reply bait

>>8438062
10/10 girl
rest not read

>>8438128
the cambridge and bloomsbury ones seem promising. thanks for the suggestions!

>You know Plato is like 1700 pages right? Just annotate while you read and summarize afterwards; you don't want to spend your whole life reading Plato (probably).
im obviously only reading major works but i plan on keeping him by my side possibly my whole life.

>>8438170
this dialogue by dialogue approach seems promising. as im currently rereading phaedo i have an inclination to go back and reread apology especially to see how his comments of the philosophical life relate to each other. thanks for the suggestions, anon. will keep that in mind.

>>8438210
kiko mizuhara lad

Someone posted, a few weeks ago, a mega folder with Plato commentaries, does anyone have the link?

>>8439112
Bump for this