Socrates’ ancient words are still true, and the ideas found in Plato’s Dialogues still form the foundation of a thinking person’s education. This superb collection contains excellent contemporary translations selected for their clarity and accessibility to today’s reader, as well as an incisive introduction by Erich Segal, which reveals Plato’s life and clarifies the philosophical issues examined in each dialogue. The first four dialogues recount the trial and execution of Socrates–the extraordinary tragedy that changed Plato’s life and forever altered the course of Western thought. Other dialogues create a rich tableau of intellectual life in Athens in the fourth century b.c., and examine such timeless–and timely–issues as the nature of virtue and love, knowledge and truth, society and the individual. Resounding with the humor and astounding brilliance of Socrates, the immortal iconoclast, these great works remain powerful, probing, and essential.
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Text: English, Latin (translation)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Publisher
"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates's ancient words are still true, and the ideas sounded in Plato's Dialogues still form the foundation of a thinking person's education. This superb collection contains excellent contemporary translations selected for their clarity and accessibility to today's reader, as well as an incisive introduction by Erich Segal, which reveals Plato's life and clarifies the philosophical issues examined in each dialogue. The first four dialogues recount the trial execution of Socrates--the extraordinary tragedy that changed Plato's life and so altered the course of Western though. Other dialogues create a rich tableau of intellectual life in Athens in the fourth century B.C., and examine the nature of virtue and love, knowledge and truth, society and the individual. Resounding with the humor and astounding brilliance of Socrates, the immortal iconoclast, these great works remain powerful, probing, and essential.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Socratic method is still valid.,
By A.J. (Maryland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Dialogues of Plato (Bantam Classic) (Mass Market Paperback)
This Bantam Classics edition presents, through translations by different sources, eight of Plato's "early" dialogues, all involving Socrates, his apotheosized master. Written in the form of question-and-answer sessions, these dialogues profile a man in a continuous quest for the truth, even when he is awaiting his execution, and demonstrate a particular system of gathering information and building knowledge, a system that is nothing less than the foundation of Western thought. The oracle at Delphi stated that Socrates was the wisest of men because he knew that his wisdom was paltry -- unlike the Sophists, who not only thought they could teach things like virtue and "excellence" to the youth of Athens but also charged money for their tutelage. Since Socrates admits to knowing nothing, he gains all his knowledge through inquiry, deferring to his interlocutors' presumed knowledge, often using sarcasm with the Sophists. His questions commonly use logic of the form "If A is the same as B and B is the opposite of C, isn't A the opposite of C?" Socrates saw himself as a "gadfly" to Athenian society, always seeking truth -- an absolute truth, as opposed to the moral relativism taught by the Sophists and practiced by the Athenians. His basic interest was inquiring of the way a man should live his life, one conclusion being that to suffer is better than to cause suffering, since the immortal soul is judged constantly by the gods. Some of the arguments might seem specious to the modern reader, but the importance of reading the dialogues is not necessarily to agree with any particular argument presented but to observe an intensely systematic and organized method of gaining knowledge through interrogatory dialogue. First-hand experience tells me that asking and answering questions is a better way to learn than listening to a one-sided lecture, and reading Plato's Socratic recollections confirms my opinion.
19 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
inadequate description, translation,
By tdw@u.arizona.edu (tucson, az) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dialogues of Plato (Library Edition) (Audio Cassette)
The pleasure of Plato is as much from his literary as from his philosophical acumen. The choice of the public-domain Jowett translation is unhappy for bringing out the literary merit of the original. This Victorian prose, while usually competent as translation, does not ring true to the original and certainly does nothing for the late 20th century American ear. One wonders why the set is so expensive when the translation was had for nothing. And why doesn't Amazon print the contents of these cassettes in their bibliographical information. Does one have to buy the set to find out exactly what its contents are>
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent shape,
This review is from: The Dialogues of Plato (Bantam Classic) (Mass Market Paperback)
better than i expected considering it was a penny. through this book i learned more about how powerful philosophy can be than in my intro to philosophy course
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Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs):
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Socrates Well, Callicles Quite, Callicles Well, Meno Certainly, Socrates They, Meno That, Meno There, Socrates Socrates, Callicles Let, Crito Certainly, Socrates There, Callicles That, Callicles All, Socrates Very, Socrates Would, Socrates Let, Socrates Callicles, Meno Very, Euthyphro But Socrates, Meno They, Socrates Yes Callicles, Socrates Nothing, Meno Yes Socrates, Socrates Perhaps, Euthyphro Well Browse Sample Pages:
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Socrates Well, Callicles Quite, Callicles Well, Meno Certainly, Socrates They, Meno That, Meno There, Socrates Socrates, Callicles Let, Crito Certainly, Socrates There, Callicles That, Callicles All, Socrates Very, Socrates Would, Socrates Let, Socrates Callicles, Meno Very, Euthyphro But Socrates, Meno They, Socrates Yes Callicles, Socrates Nothing, Meno Yes Socrates, Socrates Perhaps, Euthyphro Well Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!
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