Why Plato Matters Now
Bloomsbury · Hardcover · October 28, 2025
Professor Angie Hobbs proves in this persuasive and intelligent book that Plato is more relevant than ever.
We earn from qualifying purchases.
- Who it’s for
- Explore how Plato’s ideas speak to contemporary public life, personal questions, and contested issues.
- Themes
- Plato and contemporary society, Flourishing life and community, Socratic dialogue on contested issues
- Genres
- Philosophers & Their Ideas, Political Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
Nearest books
Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved. Most of these share its genre: Ancient Philosophy.
Aristotle's WayEdith Hall57% matchAlso shares Philosophers & Their Ideas
TimaeusPlato, Benjamin Jowett54% matchAlso shares Philosophers & Their Ideas
Lives of the Eminent PhilosophersDiogenes Laertius, Pamela Mensch54% match
The Republic of PlatoAllan Bloom, Adam Kirsch54% matchAlso shares Political Philosophy
Ancient Greek PhilosophersEditors of Canterbury Classics, Ken Mondschein53% match
For younger readers: Big Lies, Explore Greek Myths!, Famous Men of Greece
Start with three books, and this one can be the first.
Members get a new edition every morning: a route out from their books to essays, research and talks, with the reason for each.
Start with this bookAbout this book
Professor Angie Hobbs proves in this persuasive and intelligent book that Plato is more relevant than ever. Does Plato matter? An ancient philosopher whose work has inspired and informed countless thinkers and poets across the centuries, his ideas are no longer taught as widely as they once were. But, as Angie Hobbs argues in this clear-sighted book, that is a mistake.
Continue reading
If we want to understand the world we live in – from democracy, autocracy and fake news to celebrity, cancel culture and what money can and cannot do – there is no better place to start than Plato. Exploring the intersection between the ancient and the modern, Professor Hobbs shows how Plato can help us address key questions concerning the nature of a flourishing life and community, healthcare, love and friendship, heroism, reality, art and myth-making. She also shows us how Plato's adaptation of the Socratic method and dialogue form can enable us to deal with contested issues more constructively. Plato's methodology, arguments, ideas and vivid images are explained with a clarity suitable both for readers familiar with his work and for those approaching Plato for the first time. This book shows why Plato really matters, now more than ever.
Plato and Public Life
Explore how Plato’s ideas speak to contemporary public life, personal questions, and contested issues.
Come here for
- Plato’s ideas brought to bear on democracy, autocracy, and fake news
- Questions about healthcare, love, friendship, and a flourishing community
Expect
- Explanations of Plato’s arguments, ideas, and vivid images
- Connections between ancient thought and modern questions
Where it sits
| Philosophers & Their Ideas | 93% |
|---|---|
| Political Philosophy | 36% |
| Ancient Philosophy | 30% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Ancient Greece
- Ancient Philosophy
- Philosophers & Their Ideas
- Authors
- Angie Hobbs
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury
- Published
- October 28, 2025
- Format
- Hardcover
- Theme
- Plato and contemporary society · Flourishing life and community · Socratic dialogue on contested issues
- Reading lane
- Ancient Greece