Abstract

Reviewing the discussion of preceding chapters, the chapter reflects on the implications of the study for our approach to the activity of reading Plato’s works, the shape of the corpus, and the progression of readers which, it is suggested, is integral to the strategy and the drama of Plato’s works. Turning from the learner’s personal journey to the wider civic and political resonances of Plato’s texts, it is argued that the dialectical training furnished by the dialogues is also a preparation for civic life, and as such, helps bridge the gap between reading and acting. The final section of the chapter offers a reading of Phaedo’s myth of the real world in the light of these ideas.