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The Dialogues of Plato
 
 

The Dialogues of Plato [Mass Market Paperback]

Plato
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Product Description

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.

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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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Socratic method is still valid., July 24 2002
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This review is from: The Dialogues of Plato (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.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is simply a piece of art, Nov 29 1997
This review is from: The Dialogues of Plato (Mass Market Paperback)
If you are an amateur philosopher like me, this is a great book to start.

Surprisingly it is easy to read!!!

At the beginning looks boring, but when you start feeling the taste of it, you will LOVE it.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for logically-challenged Liberals!, July 31 2001
This review is from: The Dialogues of Plato (Mass Market Paperback)
Unfortunately, the public school system of America has eradicated all courses relative to developing a student's ability to reason, and reason well. Rhetoric,and the 'Socratic Method' were essential parts of a collegiate student's curriculum in medieval Europe, and the universities of America would not be remiss in re-introducing this dynamic type of verbal intercourse today.
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