The Third City, first published in 1982, offers an innovative response to the troubled relationship between Western philosophy, as it has been conducted since the Renaissance, and the everyday lives of the communities in which we live. Bebek contends that the model of philosophical reflection is to be found in Platoâs dialogues, which, rather than simply describing utopia through a series of abstract âconceptsâ, were instead designed to impel the learner towards a recognition of the true nature of reality â as much a âself-recognitionâ as an understanding of the world âout thereâ. Thus, in order to revive the spirit of true philosophy, it is necessary to avoid both the false extremes of idealism and materialism, and to allow ethics once more to merge with epistemology. This title presents an exposition of this ethically based philosophy, allowing the very human insights of Plato to illumine the diverse problems of today.
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