Plato

"The Republic is Plato's masterwork. It was written 2,400 years ago and remains one of the most widely read books in the world, famous for both the richness of its ideas and the virtuosity of its writing. Presented as a dialogue between Plato's teacher Socrates and various interlocutors, it is an exhortation to study philosophy, inviting its readers to reflect on the choices we must make if we are to live the best life available to us. This complex,...

Plato's "Meno" is a Socratic dialogue between the two main speakers, Socrates and Meno, and explores the definition of virtue and whether it is something that can be taught. Meno is an attractive and well-to-do young man visiting Athens and is a student of the sophist Gorgias, who has greatly influenced Meno's ideas on virtue and knowledge. The dialogue begins abruptly with a question posed by Meno, who asks Socrates whether virtue can be taught....

One of the middle or transitional dialogues of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, "Gorgias" depicts a dinner gathering attended by Socrates and a group of sophists. Gorgias, a foreigner, has been drawn to Athens by its cultural and intellectual sophistication. In this dialogue Plato contrasts Gorgias, the rhetorician, with Socrates, the philosopher, whose differing specialties are persuasion and refutation, respectively. As Plato delves into arguments...

Plato's "Protagoras" is a series of debates or arguments between Socrates and the elderly Protagoras, who was a well-known Sophist. Socrates was deeply critical of the Sophists, who were teachers or wise men who charged money for educating students and dispensing wisdom. He believed them to be corrupt and dangerous men, who could lead their pupils astray. In Plato's dialogue, Socrates challenges Protagoras and his beliefs in front of an audience of...

"Theaetetus" is a dialogue by Plato from his middle period, written sometime around 369 BC. It is widely considered to be one of his best works and remains a significant contribution to the philosophy of knowledge. The work is framed as a dialogue between Socrates and a promising, but humble, young geometry student named Theaetetus. In one of the most well-known scenes in Plato's dialogues, Socrates discusses his method for eliciting thoughtful discussion...

Among the most important and influential philosophical works in Western thought: Euthyphro, exploring the concepts and aims of piety and religion; Apology, a defense of the integrity of Socrates' teachings; Crito, exploring Socrates' refusal to flee his death sentence; and Phaedo, in which Socrates embraces death and discusses the immortality of the soul.

The Philebus appears to be one of the later writings of Plato, in which the style has begun to alter, and the dramatic and poetical element has become subordinate to the speculative and philosophical. In the development of abstract thought great advances have been made on the Protagoras or the Phaedrus, and even on the Republic. But there is a corresponding diminution of artistic skill, a want of character in the persons, a laboured march in the dialogue,...

Long regarded as the most accurate rendering of Plato's Republic that has yet been published, this work is the first literal translation of this classic. There is annotated text, an essay--as well as indices--which will better enable the reader to approach the heart of Plato's intention. This edition includes a new introduction by critic Adam Kirsch, setting the work in its intellectual context for a new generation of readers.--