The Blackwell Guide to Ancient Philosophy provides a comprehensive treatment of the principal figures and movements of philosophy from its origins before Socrates, through the towering achievements of Plato and Aristotle, and into its final developments in late antiquity. Authored by a cast of distinguished philosophers, this collection offers in-depth, accessible essays on the Presocratics, the Sophistic Movement, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the principal Hellenistic schools - Epicureanism, Academic Skepticism, and Stoicism - and, finally, the often neglected Neoplatonists.
Outstanding translations by leading contemporary scholars -- many commissioned especially for this volume -- are presented here in the first single edition to include the entire surviving corpus of works attributed to Plato in antiquity. In his introductory essay, John Cooper explains the presentation of these works, discusses questions concerning the chronology of their composition, comments on the dialogue form in which Plato wrote, and offers guidance on approaching the reading and study of Plato's works.
Drew A. Hyland, one of Continental philosophy's keenest interpreters of
Plato, takes up the question of beauty in three Platonic dialogues, the
Hippias Major, Symposium, and Phaedrus. What Plato
meant by beauty is not easily characterized, and Hyland's close
readings show that Plato ultimately gives up on the possibility of a
definition.
In Plato in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of Plato's life and ideas and explains their influence on man's struggle to understand his existence in the world. The book also includes selections from Plato's work, a brief list of suggested reading for those who wish to delve deeper, and chronologies that place Plato within his own age and in the broader scheme of philosophy.
In an age when philosophers had scarcely glimpsed the horizons of the mind, a boy named Aristocles decided to forgo his ambitions as a wrestler. Adopting the nickname Plato, he embarked instead on a life in philosophy. In 387 B.C. he founded the Academy, the world's first university, and taught his students that all we see is not reality but merely a reproduction of the true source. And in his famous Republic he described the politics of "the highest form of state."
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes [NO TEXT]
Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein AUDIOBOOK (2007)
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Category: Philosophy and humor
Here's a lively, hilarious, not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical traditions, schools, concepts, and thinkers. It's Philosophy 101 for everyone who knows not to take all this heavy stuff too seriously. Some of the Big Ideas are Existentialism (what do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?), Philosophy of Language (how to express what it's like being stranded on a desert island with Halle Berry), Feminist Philosophy (why, in the end, a man is always a man), and much more. Finally-it all makes sense!