Plato.
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Written sometime during the 4th century BC, "Symposium" is one the most poetic and sublime works by the Greek philosopher Plato. The action of the dialogue is set during a party hosted by the poet Agathon to celebrate his first victory in a dramatic competition. The title 'Symposium', or 'Banquet' refers to the setting of the work, however the more literal translation from the Greek is a 'drinking party.' At this party several notable figures from...
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Enriched classics
Great books of the Western World volume 5, 6
Great books of the Western world volume 7
Great books of the Western World volume 5, 6
Great books of the Western world volume 7
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The Dialogues of Plato, written between 427 and 347 B.C., rank among the most important and influential works in Western thought. Most famous are the first four, in which Plato casts his teacher Socrates as the central disputant in colloquies that brilliantly probe a vast spectrum of philosophical ideas and issues. Socrates' ancient words are still true, and the ideas found in Plato's Dialogues still form the foundation of a thinking person's education....
3) The republic
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Republic, by Plato, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:
• New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars
• Biographies of the authors
• Chronologies of contemporary historical,...
4) Gorgias
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"Taking the form of a dialogue between Socrates, Gorgias, Polus and Callicles, the Gorgias debates crucial questions about the nature of government. While the aspiring politician Callicles propounds the view that might is right, and the rhetorician Gorgias argues that oratory and the power to persuade represent 'the greatest good', Socrates insists on the duty of politicians to consider the welfare of their citizens--a duty he believed had been dishonoured...
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This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. Plato's ambitious dialogue Timaeus and the unfinished Critias were meant to be part of a trilogy that would outline a proper and sufficiently detailed natural philosophy and cosmology. The Timaeus is Plato's spirited response to the cosmogony and physics of the "atheist" Atomist philosophers Leucippus and Democritus. The Critias presents what might be a famous Platonic...
6) Meno
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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....
7) The laws
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"In The Laws, Plato describes in detail a comprehensive system of legislation in a small agricultural utopia he named Magnesia. His laws not only govern crime and punishment, but also form a code of conduct for all aspects of life in his ideal state - from education, sport and religion to sexual behaviour, marriage and drinking parties. Plato sets out a plan for the day-to-day rule of Magnesia, administered by citizens and elected officials, with...
8) Apology
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"Apology" is the famous account of the trial of Socrates. Plato's dialogue presents the charges brought against Socrates by the people of Athens and lays out the arguments that the accused presented in his defense. Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth of the city with his radical ideas and of impiety against the pantheon of the Athenian gods, or more specifically, of not believing in the gods of the city and believing instead in no gods or...
9) Phaedrus
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Plato's "Phaedrus" is a dialogue between Phaedrus and the great Greek philosopher Socrates. Phaedrus has been spending the morning with Lysias, the celebrated rhetorician, and is going to refresh himself by taking a walk outside the wall, when he is met by Socrates, who professes that he will not leave him until he has delivered up the speech with which Lysias has regaled him, and which he is carrying about in his mind, or more probably in a book...
10) Phaedo
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A classic work of ancient Greek literature from Plato, one of the most famous of all ancient Greek philosophers, the "Phaedo" is the moving story of the last moments of Socrates life as recounted by Phaedo, a student of Socrates and a first-hand witness to his final hours. "Phaedo" is the fourth and last dialogue by Plato of Socrates final days, following "Euthyphro", "Apology", and "Crito". In "Phaedo" we see the famous philosopher in his last hours...
11) Theaetetus
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"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...
13) Ion
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An award-winning public reader of Homer discusses poetry and the nature of performance with the probing and insightful Socrates in Plato's immortal dialogue.
Ion, a professional rhapsode, performer of dramatic recitations of Homer and lecturer on poetry, has a revealing discussion with Socrates. Acclaimed for the power of his performances, Ion becomes so involved in performing that he feels the emotions described in his story and expects them to...
14) Protagoras
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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...
15) Timaeus
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Of all the writings of Plato the Timaeus is the most obscure and repulsive to the modern reader, and has nevertheless had the greatest influence over the ancient and mediaeval world. The obscurity arises in the infancy of physical science, out of the confusion of theological, mathematical, and physiological notions, out of the desire to conceive the whole of nature without any adequate knowledge of the parts, and from a greater perception of similarities...
16) Plato's Republic
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Plato's most famous work and one of the most important books ever written on the subject of philosophy and political theory, "The Republic" is a fictional dialogue between Socrates and other various Athenians and foreigners which examines the meaning of justice. It is primarily from the writings of Plato that Socrates's ideas are passed down to us. Written around 380 BC, the work is an important contribution to the age old question of how to best...
17) Sophist
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The Sophist is a Platonic dialogue from the philosopher's late period, most likely written in 360 BC. In it the interlocutors, led by Eleatic Stranger employ the method of division in order to classify and define the sophist and describe his essential attributes and differentia vis a vis the philosopher and statesman. Like its sequel, the Statesman, the dialogue is unusual in that Socrates is present but plays only a minor role. Instead, the Eleatic...
18) Euthyphro
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In the Meno, Anytus had parted from Socrates with the significant words: 'That in any city, and particularly in the city of Athens, it is easier to do men harm than to do them good;' and Socrates was anticipating another opportunity of talking with him. In the Euthyphro, Socrates is awaiting his trial for impiety. But before the trial begins, Plato would like to put the world on their trial, and convince them of ignorance in that very matter touching...
19) Cratylus
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Cratylus is the name of a dialogue by Plato. Most modern scholars agree that it was written mostly during Plato's so-called middle period.[1] In the dialogue, Socrates is asked by two men, Cratylus and Hermogenes, to tell them whether names are "conventional" or "natural", that is, whether language is a system of arbitrary signs or whether words have an intrinsic relation to the things they signify.
The individual Cratylus was the first intellectual...
20) Philebus
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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,...
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