The Essential Plato

Plato is indisputably one of the most important philosophers of all time, forming with Socrates and Aristotle the trio of great figures at the heart of classical philosophy. The Essential Plato brings together the thinker's writings with an accessible, informative, and entertaining introduction from Alain De Botton, which puts Plato in a historical context and explains why his life and work are still relevant today. Using the 1871 Benjamin Jowett translation, this volume includes the entire Republic; The Apology, which explores the trial and execution of Socrates; The Symposium, Plato's plunge into the nature of love and emotion;and the Laws, an updating of The Republic, focusing on specific social issues such as education, alcoholism, and of course, "The Evils of Retail Trade."

Thirteen of Plato's most well-known dialogues are included in the collection "Essential Dialogues of Plato." Plato was a learned student of the early philosopher Socrates. Because Socrates did not write any works before his untimely death, Pluto took Socrates' beliefs and expressed them through imagined dialogues between the philosopher and his students. It was the first time in Western history that a philosophical dialectic between the teacher and student was developed. In the dialogues, Socrates and a student discuss multiple aspects of life through a similar structure. The student, in his ignorance, makes a wide, generalized statement, and Socrates then questions their thought processes. While Socrates was not trying to push his students into thinking a certain way, he wanted his students to discover their own truths through rational thinking and questioning the world. Plato showed this poignantly in his dialogues, which preserved his teacher's legacy while solidifying Plato himself as one of the most unique literary minds in early Western civilization. Plato not only fleshes out the characters and creates narrative story arcs in his dialogues, but he even injects humor and wit into his works. Some of the works included in this text are "Ion," "Gorgias," "Phaedrus," "Crito," and "Laws." "Essential Dialogues of Plato" is a must-read for any serious student of philosophy as well as those with an interest in Western values and beliefs.

Three Socratic dialogues by the ancient Greek philosopher who established the foundations of Western thought. Apology: In this classic text, Plato recounts the trial of his mentor Socrates, who stands accused of rejecting the gods and corrupting the youth of Athens. As recounted by Plato, Socrates defends himself with a profound examination of integrity, citizenship, the nature of truth, and the role of a philosopher. Symposium: Here Plato depicts a group of Athenian intellectuals discussing the nature of desire. One after another, Agathon, Aristodemus, Eryximachus, Pausanias, and Aristophanes share their perspectives on gender, love, sexuality, and human instincts. The dialogue culminates in the radical views of Socrates, who advocates transcendence through spiritual worship. The Republic: Plato’s magnum opus is a wide-ranging and deeply influential meditation on society as a whole. Plato explores the concept of justice, the connection between politics and psychology, the difference between words and what they represent, and the roles of art and education, among many other topics.

According to Plato, perhaps the greatest philosopher of all time, philosophy begins in wonder. His ideas grew against the turbulent background of Ancient Greece, yet his famous Dialogues rank amongst the world's most serene and profound literature.

A Plato Reader offers eight of Plato's best-known works--Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo, Symposium, Phaedrus, and Republic--unabridged, expertly introduced and annotated, and in widely admired translations by C. D. C. Reeve, G. M. A. Grube, Alexander Nehamas, and Paul Woodruff. The collection features Socrates as its central character and a model of the examined life. Its range allows us to see him in action in very different settings and philosophical modes: from the elenctic Socrates of the Meno and the dialogues concerning his trial and death, to the erotic Socrates of the Symposium and Phaedrus, to the dialectician of the Republic. Of Reeve's translation of this final masterpiece, Lloyd P. Gerson writes, "Taking full advantage of S. R. Slings' new Greek text of the Republic, Reeve has given us a translation both accurate and limpid. Loving attention to detail and deep familiarity with Plato's thought are evident on every page. Reeve's brilliant decision to cast the dialogue into direct speech produces a compelling impression of immediacy unmatched by other English translations currently available."

Discover the world's greatest thinkers and their groundbreaking notions! Too often, textbooks turn the noteworthy theories, principles, and figures of philosophy into tedious discourse that even Plato would reject. Philosophy 101 cuts out the boring details and exhausting philosophical methodology, and instead, gives you a lesson in philosophy that keeps you engaged as you explore the fascinating history of human thought and inquisition. From Aristotle and Heidegger to free will and metaphysics, Philosophy 101 is packed with hundreds of entertaining philosophical tidbits, illustrations, and thought puzzles that you won't be able to find anywhere else. So whether you're looking to unravel the mysteries of existentialism, or just want to find out what made Voltaire tick, Philosophy 101 has all the answers--even the ones you didn't know you were looking for.

From the Publisher: Western philosophy starts with Socrates and his student Plato. By way of the dialectic that evolved between master and student, Plato invented the philosophical method of inquiry and analysis, and became the first to use a logical framework to ask-and try to answer-the eternal questions about ethics, politics, art, and life that still haunt humanity. Along with such exemplars of Plato's thought as Symposium, Apology, and Phaedrus, this volume includes the first three books of Plato's Laws.