Phaedrus, Apology, Crito & Symposium

plato benjamin jowett

"Phaedrus, Apology, Crito, and Symposium": four works of the great ancient Greek philosopher Plato are brought together here in this volume. The Phaedrus is closely connected with the Symposium, and may be regarded either as introducing or following it. The two Dialogues together contain the whole philosophy of Plato on the nature of love. In the Apology we hear the response that Socrates gives in defense at his trial. And in Crito we have a dialogue between Crito and Socrates in Socrates' prison cell prior to his execution where Crito tells Socrates that he has made arrangements to smuggle Socrates into exile and tries to convince Socrates to escape. Together these works give the student of ancient philosophy an insight into the philosophies of Socrates and his pupil Plato. Presented in this volume are the classic introductions and translations of Benjamin Jowett.

Genres philosophy

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 1,1980

This edition

Format: 144 pages, Paperback
Published: January 1, 2006 by Digireads.Com
ISBN: 9781420926842
ASIN: 1420926845
Language: English

About the author

plato

Plato (Greek: Πλάτων), born Aristocles (c. 427 – 348 BC), was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. He raised problems for what became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Platonic Academy, a philosophical school in Athens where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known as Platonism.
Plato's most famous contribution is the theory of forms (or ideas), which has been interpreted as advancing a solution to what is now known as the problem of universals. He was decisively influenced by the pre-Socratic thinkers Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself.
Along with his teacher Socrates, and Aristotle, his student, Plato is a central figure in the history of philosophy. Plato's entire body of work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years—unlike that of nearly all of his contemporaries. Although their popularity has fluctuated, they have consistently been read and studied through the ages. Through Neoplatonism, he also greatly influenced both Christian and Islamic philosophy. In modern times, Alfred North Whitehead famously said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato."