Apology, Crito, Critias and ION Dialogues of Plato by Plato

Apology, Crito, Critias and ION Dialogues of Plato by Plato

Apology Possibly one of Plato's first works, the Apology presents Socrates' own defense and in the process helps define his philosophy. He wished to change the way in which his contemporaries viewed the world and believed the unexamined life is not worth living. Crito Socrates is sentenced to death, but his friend Crito bribes the guards to enable is escape. Crito feeling that the sentence is unjust sees no wrong in avoiding it with another injustice, while Socrates disagrees. In their conversation the probe the foundations of civil and moral law as well as the social contract theory of government. Critias One of the late and unfinished dialogues, Critias is the original account of the rise and fall of Atlantis, an ancient, mighty empire ruled by the descendants of Poseidon. It is thought that the account is not historical, but rather an illustration of Plato's vision an ideal society. Ion In this short work Socrates discusses with Ion, a successful actor, his ability to interpret Homer. Thus arise two questions: First is there an art of poetry as a whole and consequently: Does philosophy only exist in the use of words? The dialogue thus delves into the puzzling nature of human creativity.

Born to a politically connected and aristocratic family between 428 and 423 B.C., Plato received a good standard of education at an early age, and was able to immerse himself in the intellectual community of Ancient Athens. His most notable contemporary and mentor was Socrates, an eccentric but highly capable philosopher who was to feature as a principle character in most of Plato's scholarly writings. Owing to his high standard of education in art, mathematics, rhetoric and philosophy, Plato was able to assemble a comprehensive philosophy of his own via his favoured form of writing which was the dialogue. In total, over thirty of these Platonic dialogues have survived the passage of time - and together they form the backbone of Ancient Greek philosophy. After enjoying success as a writer and academic, Plato in 385 B.C. founded The Academy. This school was to unite the most capable thinkers of Greece, and would help to advance learning throughout Greek society's Golden Age. It was in the Academy that Plato would instruct and apprentice Aristotle, who was to go on to gain renown as a philosopher and scholar. Owing to his reputation Plato was hired by Dion, whose nephew Dionysus II was the rightful ruler of Sicily - Dion wished his nephew to receive a good education in the art of sound and wise governance. However Dionysus II became suspicious and accused both Plato and Dion of conspiracy - after some time spent under arrest, Plato returned to his homeland. In his late period, Plato continued to tutor and mentor the best young minds of Athens, and he would perish around 348 B.C. having lived beyond the age of eighty. Today Plato's legacy remains lauded: the philosopher ably used logic and reason to imbue insight on democratic governance, while developing a cohesive philosophy on topics such as art, metaphysics, justice and the 'Theory of Forms' - his iconic take on how ideas related to reality.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781605125213
ISBN 10	1605125210
Title	Apology, Crito, Critias and ION Dialogues of Plato
Author	Plato
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Akasha Classics
Year published	2009-11-12
Number of pages	122
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.