Plato

The Giants of Philosophy

by Berel Lang, Charlton Heston (Narrator)

Plato was the first great philosopher of the West to organize and record the issues and questions that define philosophy. A student of Socrates, Plato preserved the teachings of his mentor in many famous "dialogues" that deal with classic issues like law and justice, perception and reality, death and the soul, mind and body, reason and passion, and the nature of love. The most famous of all Platonic doctrines is the "theory of forms", the idea that there are changeless, eternal forms on which existing things are modeled.

The Giants of Philosophy is a series of dramatic presentations, in understandable language, of the concerns, questions, interests, and overall world view of history's greatest philosophers. Special emphasis on clear and relevant explanations gives you a new arsenal of insights toward living a better life.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Audiobook, History, Biography, Classics

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what I wanted it to be. Kind of a mini biography and an overview of his writings. Nothing too intensive, just a good palate cleanser

[Stephie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for what it is - a basic overview.

[Remus · Rating 4 out of 5]

As it should be noted, this work mentions and talks about Socrates just as much as (maybe even more than) Plato. I would not consider it a defect of the book, it makes sense especially since Plato and Socrates are hard to distinguish from what we have left of their legacy.

Overall the content is short but "good enough" it presents the main topics and skips any in-depth analysis that would make it a complete philosophical book (which is to say that it's good for what it is, a short sneak peak into Plato's world and thought).

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This well-performed audiobook provides an accessible introduction to Plato's life and thought (and incidentally Socrates' thought). Heston's voice changes with the characters, punctuating overviews of Plato's ideas with snippets from his Dialogues. Lang also highlights some difficulties; and by doing so, he makes the reader want to investigate Plato and his critics further.

[Jay Best · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact that Socrates, Plato and Aristotle created revolutions in improvements in multiple times of history is so remarkable.

The thoughts and concepts blew my mind. I'm fairly cynical and have read a ton, so it's amazing to me to hear ideas that reorganise how I view the world. This is a summary of all of Platos works

* Listened via Libby, at 3x speed

[Rodney Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I strongly recommend this book as a primer to Plato and Greek Philosophy. The author provides a guided tour of the subject with clarity and context. It’s a quick read that provides a much needed on-ramp to delving into the complex world of philosophy.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to the work of Plato, and his predecessor Socrates, which can be summed up in this quote..

Bill: Socrates - "The only true wisdom consists of knowing you know nothing".

Ted: That's us, dude.

[Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

- Knowledge is not merely perception
-The development of true opinions and validity of forms
-Appearance v reality (Plato’s Cave)
-The relations of form to what they are not and to themselves.
-Knowledge provides the basis for decisions and the urge to know is the common feature of man

[Patrik Gustafsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good introduction, did not pull me in though.

[JP Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highlights of Plato and Socrates well read by the master himself Charlton Heston.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

The republic was the inspiration for brave new world!

[Ozifer Eris]

Informative. Worth listening to. I'd do it again.

[Gauthama Nair · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this brief book, seems Socrates was into the abstract part of philosophy, while Plato was inclined towards definite.

[bimri · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most substantive commentary and summation of Plato's works! I actually did enjoy it as much as I was at odds with some of its philosophies.

[Othoob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plato was an Athenian philosopher born during the classical period of Ancient Greece. His works consist of dialogues concerning different philosophical and moral issues. Socrates appears in many of Plato's works and is usually the protagonist. There are many opinions on the authenticity of some of the dialogues and the chronological order of these works.

This book was like a revision of what I read. Plato is interesting. And it is intriguing to see how Platonic ideas influenced philosophies and philosophers of the later centuries.

I like Plato’s dialogues. I get this feeling of being involved in their discussions in Ancient Greece. It is like going back in time. However, I dislike Plato’s ideas, especially his political philosophy and metaphysics, and I prefer Aristotle over him. But I can say that Plato is a good start to philosophy and a very important figure.

This book goes over Plato’s works briefly, and I realized while listening to the book that I read many of the works mentioned, and this was just a refreshing listen. I prefer longer introductions because I can easily forget the shorter ones. And if it weren't for my previous knowledge of Plato, I would have forgotten the minute I finished this book.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three quarters of the book spoke about Socrates rather than Plato. Understandably Socrates had a massive impact on Plato but a book titled Plato should have more about Plato, I feel anyway.

[Brian Mikołajczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short analysis of Plato’s republic. It has less to do with Platonic philosophy and more to do with Socrates, really. The author selects a few main points in The Republic and explains them. Useful, but shallow and incomplete.

[Caitlin Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one gave me a lot to think about. If love is an emotion derived from want or lack of something then could it be said that war and love stem from the same thing? If war stems from a lack of something could it not be resolved in the same manner which love is? I'll have to reread this book. I feel as if I've missed something.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

used audiobook

[James Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of Plato's philosophy but I did appreciate learning more about his history.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Want to read everyday