Plato's dialogue Phaedo portrays Socrates in prison awaiting execution and discussing with his friends the fate of the soul after death. In this edition, consisting of introduction, text and commentary, Professor Rowe guides the reader through the difficulties--linguistic, literary and philosophical--of individual passages and of the dialogue as a whole. The comparative beginner is not neglected, but the commentary is intended for any student, classical scholar, or philosopher with an interest in the close reading of Plato.
Phaedrus: With a Selection of Early Greek Poems and Fragment
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This translation captures the character of the Greek as spoken better than any I know. The notes are useful and not intrusive. But it is the introduction that masterfully introduces the reader to some of the interesting reflections on the Phaedrus. --Edward M. Galligan, UNC at Chapel Hill
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27 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By T. Chou
Format:Paperback
In Phaedrus, Plato records the conversation of love and rhetoric between Socrates and Phaedrus. Socrates uses love as a metaphor for rhetoric by categorizing the differences between love and lust, as well as the differences between a philosopher who pursues divine truth, and a poet who forgoes truth for ostentations. Then Socrates and Phaedrus eventually conclude the requirements for being a dialectician. In the course of defending proper love and truth, Socrates pointes out that beauty and truth are divine. Whoever pursues reality would worship beauty and truth with reverence, and his admirations of divinities yield pleasures. Then in order to receive the blessing from gods, the proper lover and the philosopher must overcome desires with reasoning. Conversely, those commoners who are tempted by earthy imitations of the reality would be trapped by carnal or linguistic pleasures, as the improper lover and the poet, who lack reasoning would drown in the momentary enjoyments of their own wantonness.
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
_I have heard some call this work a confused jumble of unrelated concepts. These people just didn't get it. There is one unified theme to the Phaedrus: without a deep connection to the soul and to the higher Reality only accessible to the soul, then all human endeavors are in error.
_The first part of the dialogue deals with three speeches on the topic of love. This is used only as an example and is not the primary theme (though it is an extremely thorough and compelling examination of the subject.) The first speech (by Lysias) is clearly in error- it is badly composed, badly reasoned, and supports what is clearly the wrong conclusion. The second speech (by Socrates), while an impeccable model of correct rhetoric, and reaching the correct conclusion is also essentially flawed- for it makes no appeal to the deepest fundamental causes of things. Simply put, it lacks soul. The third argument (attributed to Stesichorus) however, delves deeply into the soul. In fact, the core of the argument is centered around the proof of the existence and nature of the soul. That is the consistency here- unless you are Philosopher enough to have looked deeply within your own soul, to have made contact (recollection) with ultimate Reality (Justice, Wisdom, Beauty, Temperance, etc.) then your arguments are just empty words- even if you are accidentally on the correct side.
_The second part of the dialogue concentrates on showing how true rhetoric is more than "empty rhetoric" (i.e. just clever arguments and tricks used to sway the masses.) True rhetoric is shown to literally be the art of influencing the soul through words. It also reads as the perfect description, and damnation, of modern politics and the legal system. No wonder Socrates was condemned to later take poison- he actually BELIEVED in Justice, Truth, and the Good. As a Philosopher he could not compromise on such things for he knew the profound damage and that it would do to his soul and to his "wings."
_The first part of the dialogue deals with three speeches on the topic of love. This is used only as an example and is not the primary theme (though it is an extremely thorough and compelling examination of the subject.) The first speech (by Lysias) is clearly in error- it is badly composed, badly reasoned, and supports what is clearly the wrong conclusion. The second speech (by Socrates), while an impeccable model of correct rhetoric, and reaching the correct conclusion is also essentially flawed- for it makes no appeal to the deepest fundamental causes of things. Simply put, it lacks soul. The third argument (attributed to Stesichorus) however, delves deeply into the soul. In fact, the core of the argument is centered around the proof of the existence and nature of the soul. That is the consistency here- unless you are Philosopher enough to have looked deeply within your own soul, to have made contact (recollection) with ultimate Reality (Justice, Wisdom, Beauty, Temperance, etc.) then your arguments are just empty words- even if you are accidentally on the correct side.
_The second part of the dialogue concentrates on showing how true rhetoric is more than "empty rhetoric" (i.e. just clever arguments and tricks used to sway the masses.) True rhetoric is shown to literally be the art of influencing the soul through words. It also reads as the perfect description, and damnation, of modern politics and the legal system. No wonder Socrates was condemned to later take poison- he actually BELIEVED in Justice, Truth, and the Good. As a Philosopher he could not compromise on such things for he knew the profound damage and that it would do to his soul and to his "wings."
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By M. Migala
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Best available translation of Plato's Phaedrus in English. They are as literal as possible and convey the subtleties of the Greek text as if it were originally written in English.
I also recommend their companion translation of Gorgias.
I also recommend their companion translation of Gorgias.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love or Rhetoric?
In this review I will compare 3 editions of Plato's Phaedrus:
1. Alexander Nehamas & Paul Woodruff (Hackett Pub Co, 1995).
2. Stephen Scully (Focus Pub/R. Read more
1. Alexander Nehamas & Paul Woodruff (Hackett Pub Co, 1995).
2. Stephen Scully (Focus Pub/R. Read more
Published on April 14, 2011 by stephen liem
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review of Hackett Phaedrus
This is an excellent translation of the Phaedrus published with an extensive introduction and plenty of contextual footnotes to make reading more pleasant. Read more
Published on January 16, 2010 by Ryan S. Mease
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Item
The Book was awesome and its still almost new....the shipping was really fast i got in before the scheduled time.!!!
Published on May 10, 2009 by Mohammad Zaman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Socrates is cocky
In this book written by Plato, Socrates is again proving his brilliance (as Plato always has him doing). Read more
Published on February 16, 2007 by Leanne T. Wilensky
3.0 out of 5 stars
"To Love - Who Watches Over Beautiful Boys"
This books attempts to answer a question that was apparently very important in ancient Greece:
When an older man wants to seduce a beautiful boy should the older man be... Read more
When an older man wants to seduce a beautiful boy should the older man be... Read more
Published on July 16, 2006 by Jeff Marzano
5.0 out of 5 stars
Division and Gathering: The Cycle Within the Life
'Phaedrus' is the first work ever to provide an explanation to how we organise our ideas, speeches and use our knowledge in a general sense. Read more
Published on April 30, 2003 by Burak Kilic
