Toward the end of the astonishing period of Athenian creativity that furnished Western civilization with the greater part of its intellectual, artistic, and political wealth, Plato wrote The Republic, his discussion of the nature and meaning of justice and of the ideal state and its ruler. All subsequent European thinking about these subjects owes its character, directly or indirectly, to this most famous (and most accessible) of the Platonic dialogues....

Written in the form of debates, Plato's "Dialogues" comprises the most influential body of philosophy of the Western world--covering every subject from art and beauty to virtue and the nature of love. Revised reissue. A translation of the complete texts of "The Republic," "The Apology," "Crito," "Phaido," "Ion," "Meno," and "Symposium" reveals the genius of Plato as he struggled with education, justice, the "philosopher king," and utopian visions...

Socrates spent a lifetime analysing ethical issues, and the Euthyphro finds him outside the court-house, still debating the nature of piety with an arrogant acquaintance. The Apology is both a robust rebuttal to the charges of impiety and corrupting young minds and a definitive defence of the philosopher's life. Later, condemned and imprisoned in the Crito, Socrates counters the arguments of friends urging him to escape. And finally, in the Phaedo,...

This historically renowned oration was presented by Socrates in his own defense after he had been formally accused of corrupting the youth of Athens. It is not an apology in the traditional sense of expressing remorse for one's actions; rather, Socrates' Apology (recorded by his faithful student and protege Plato) is a succinct and compelling defense of the brilliant philosopher's worldview, lifestyle, and teaching methods. A rewarding read

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