Julius Tomin, a well-known Czech political philosopher and classical scholar, protested today for the third day on Broad Street, claiming that Oxford academics were suppressing his radical reinterpretation of Plato and the Western tradition. Tomin, 77, has slept on the street outside Balliol College in protest.
A political dissident and reformist Christian Communist, he peacefully resisted the Czech secret police in the 60s and 70s with the aid of prominent Oxford philosophers, being sent to prison several times. He has protested in Oxford several times in recent years and has dedicated his retirement to promoting new and radical readings of ancient philosophy.
His study in Oxford of rarely read German scholars and, he claims, his ability to read Greek “while thinking Greek, not like these Oxford professors who only translate” led to a total reversal in his understanding of Plato. This, he claims, has been silenced and suppressed to avoid academic embarrassment since the late 80s.
Tomin, who previously gave high profile lectures to Oxford dons and publicly in a Swindon pub, hopes to be invited to speak by Oxford students on his new ‘revolutionary’ paper on Plato’s ‘Parmenides’ dialogue. He may be reached via his website.
