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How to Read Plato

by Richard Kraut

Plato is the foundational thinker of European speculative thought. He was the first Western writer to undertake a comprehensive and rigorous study of the fundamental categories of reality and value, and few philosophers have escaped his influence or rivaled the depth of his works, many of which have remarkable dramatic power and literary beauty. His writings range over ethics, politics, religion, art, the... (more)

Plato

by Bernard Arthur Owen Williams

Philosophy is one of the most intimidating and difficult of disciplines, as any of its students can attest. This book is an important entry in a distinctive new series from Routledge: The Great Philosophers. Breaking down obstacles to understanding the ideas of history's greatest thinkers, these brief, accessible, and affordable volumes offer essential introductions to the great philosophers of the Western... (more)

Psychology : Pythagoras to present

by John C. Malone

Certain ideas have preoccupied thinkers since ancient times: the nature of mind, the sources of knowledge and belief, the nature of the self, ethics and the best way to lead our lives, the question of free will. In this book, John Malone examines these ideas in the writings of thinkers from antiquity to the present day and argues for their importance not just as precursors of modern views but as ideas that are... (more)

Eros the Bittersweet

by Anne Carson

A book about love as seen by the ancients, Eros is Anne Carson's exploration of the concept of "eros" in both classical philosophy and literature. Beginning with: "It was Sappho who first called eros 'bittersweet.' No one who has been in love disputes her. What does the word mean?", Carson examines her subject from numerous points of view and styles, transcending the constraints of the scholarly exercise... (more)

Caverna de las ideas. (English)

by Sonia Soto, José Carlos Somoza

THE ATHENIAN MURDERS is a brilliant, very entertaining and absolutely original literary mystery, revolving round two intertwined riddles. In classical Athens, one of the pupils of Plato's Academy is found dead. His idealistic teacher suspects that this wasn't an accident and asks Herakles, known as the 'Decipherer of Enigmas', to investigate the death and ultimately a dark, irrational and subversive cult. The... (more)

Phaedrus (Oxfod World's Classics)

by Robin Waterfield, Plato

Phaedrus is widely recognized as one of Plato's most profound and beautiful works. It takes the form of a dialogue between Socrates and Phaedrus and its ostensible subject is love, especially homoerotic love. Socrates reveals it to be a kind of divine madness that can allow our souls to grow wings and soar to their greatest heights. Then the conversation changes direction and turns to a discussion of rhetoric,... (more)

The Trial and Execution of Socrates: Sources and Controversies

The Trial and Execution of Socrates: Sources and Controversies

by Nicholas D. Smith

Socrates is one of the most important yet enigmatic philosophers of all time; his fame has endured for centuries despite the fact that he never actually wrote anything. In 399 B.C.E., he was tried on the charge of impiety by the citizens of Athens, convicted by a jury, and sentenced to death (ordered to drink poison derived from hemlock). About these facts there is no disagreement. However, as the sources... (more)

What Is Ancient Philosophy?

by Pierre Hadot

A magisterial mappa mundi of the terrain that Pierre Hadot has so productively worked for decades, this ambitious work revises our view of ancient philosophy--and in doing so, proposes that we change the way we see philosophy itself. Hadot takes ancient philosophy out of its customary realm of names, dates, and arid abstractions and plants it squarely in the thick of life. Through a meticulous historical... (more)

Pooh and the Philosophers : In Which It Is Shown That All of Western Philosophy Is Merely a Preamble to Winnie-The-Pooh

Pooh and the Philosophers : In Which It Is Shown That All of Western Philosophy Is Merely a Preamble to Winnie-The-Pooh

by Ernest H. Shepard, John Tyerman Williams

Discusses the idea that the ideas of all the great philosophers of the West, such as Aristotle, Plato, and Camus, can be found in the tales of Pooh, demonstrating that their philosophies can be seen throughout the varied collection of Pooh tales.

Tragedy and Philosophy

by Walter A. Kaufmann

A critical re-examination of the views of Plato, Aristotle, Hegel and Nietzsche on tragedy. Ancient Greek tragedy is revealed as surprisingly modern and experimental, while such concepts as mimesis, catharsis, hubris and the tragic collision are discussed from different perspectives.

The Place of the Lion

by Charles Williams

Charles Williams had a genius for choosing strange and exciting themes for his novels and making them believable and profoundly suggestive of spiritual truths. Beneath the brilliant and imaginative surface of his "supernatural thrillers" lies a concealed and meticulously thought-out Christian message.

Plato: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Plato: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

by Julia Annas

This lively and accessible book focuses on the philosophy and argument of Plato's writings, drawing the reader into Plato's way of doing philosophy and the general themes of his thinking. It discusses Plato's style of writing: his use of the dialogue form, his use of what we today call fiction, and his philosophical transformation of myths. It also looks at his discussions of love and philosophy, his attitude... (more)

Phaedrus and Letters VII and VIII (Penguin Classics)

Phaedrus and Letters VII and VIII (Penguin Classics)

by Plato

Set in the idyllic countryside outside Athens, the Phaedrus is a dialogue between the philosopher Socrates and his friend Phaedrus, inspired by their reading of a clumsy speech by the writer Lysias on the nature of love. Their conversation develops into a wide-ranging discussion on such subjects as the pursuit of beauty, the immortality of the soul and the attainment of truth, and ends with an in-depth... (more)

Plato's Phaedrus (The Library of Liberal Arts)

Plato's Phaedrus (The Library of Liberal Arts)

by Plato

The dialogue begins with a playful discussion of erotic passion, then extends the theme to consider the nature of inspiration, love and knowledge. The centerpiece is the myth of the charioteer - the famous and moving account of the vision, fall and incarnation of the soul. Professor Hackforth here translates the dialogue for the student and general reader. There is a running commentary on the course of the... (more)

Plato's Theaetetus: Part I of The Being of the Beautiful (Being of the Beautiful, Part I)

Plato's Theaetetus: Part I of The Being of the Beautiful (Being of the Beautiful, Part I)

by Plato

Theaetetus , the Sophist , and the Statesman are a trilogy of Platonic dialogues that show Socrates formulating his conception of philosophy as he prepares the defense for his trial. Originally published together as The Being of the Beautiful , these translations can be read separately or as a trilogy. Each includes an introduction, extensive notes, and comprehensive commentary that examines the trilogy's... (more)

Theaetetus. Sophist (Loeb Classical Library®)

Theaetetus. Sophist (Loeb Classical Library®)

by Plato

Plato, the great philosopher of Athens, was born in 427 BCE . In early manhood an admirer of Socrates, he later founded the famous school of philosophy in the grove Academus. Much else recorded of his life is uncertain; that he left Athens for a time after Socrates' execution is probable; that later he went to Cyrene, Egypt, and Sicily is possible; that he was wealthy is likely; that he was critical of 'advanced'... (more)

Preface to Plato (History of the Greek Mind,)

Preface to Plato (History of the Greek Mind,)

by Eric Havelock

Plato's frontal attack on poetry has always been a problem for sympathetic students, who have often minimized or avoided it. Beginning with the premise that the attack must be taken seriously, Mr. Havelock shows that Plato's hostility is explained by the continued domination of the poetic tradition in contemporary Greek thought. The reason for the dominance of this tradition was technological. In a nonliterate... (more)

The Secret Supper: A Novel

by Javier Sierra

Milan, 1497: Leonardo da Vinci is completing his masterpiece, The Last Supper .Pope Alexander VI is determined to execute him after realizing that the painting contains clues to a baffling -- and blasphemous -- message, which he is determined to decode. The Holy Grail and the Eucharistic Bread are missing, there is no meat on the table and, shockingly, the apostles are portraits of well-known heretics -- none of... (more)

Plato: The Man and His Work (Dover Books on Western Philosophy)

Plato: The Man and His Work (Dover Books on Western Philosophy)

by A. E. Taylor

This outstanding work by a renowned Plato scholar presents the thought of the great Greek philosopher with historical accuracy and objective analysis. A brief introductory chapter about the philosopher's life is followed by an in-depth examination of his voluminous writings, particularly the dialogues. A substantial appendix explores works often attributed to Plato and presents cogent reasons for their acceptance... (more)

The Laws of Plato

by Plato

The Laws , Plato's longest dialogue, has for centuries been recognized as the most comprehensive exposition of the practical consequences of his philosophy, a necessary corrective to the more visionary and utopian Republic . In this animated encounter between a foreign philosopher and a powerful statesman, not only do we see reflected, in Plato's own thought, eternal questions of the relation between political... (more)

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by Richard Kraut

by Bernard Arthur Owen Williams

by John C. Malone

by Anne Carson

by Sonia Soto, José Carlos Somoza

by Robin Waterfield, Plato

by Nicholas D. Smith

by Pierre Hadot

by Ernest H. Shepard, John Tyerman Williams

by Walter A. Kaufmann

by Charles Williams

by Julia Annas

by Plato

by Plato

by Plato

by Plato

by Eric Havelock

by Javier Sierra

by A. E. Taylor

by Plato