The Last Days of Socrates: Euthyphro | The Apology | Crito | Phaedo

by Plato, Randy H. Sooknanan (Editor), Denise K. McTighe (Editor)

This annotated edition of "The Last Days of Euthyphro The Apology Crito Phaedo" The Last Days of Socrates (ART STORIA Literary Classics Annotated Edition) includes all four Socratic dialogues of the Euthyphro, The Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. Euthyphro, by Plato, is a Socratic dialogue whose events occur in the weeks before the trial of Socrates, between Socrates and Euthyphro. The dialogue covers subjects such as the meaning of piety and justice. As is common with Plato's earliest dialogues, it ends in aporia. The Apology of Socrates, written by Plato, is a Socratic dialogue of the speech of legal self-defence which Socrates (469–399 BC) spoke at his trial for impiety and corruption in 399 BC. Crito is a dialogue that depicts a conversation between Socrates and his wealthy friend Crito of Alopece regarding justice, injustice, and the appropriate response to injustice after Socrates' imprisonment, which is chronicled in the Apology. Phaedo, also known to ancient readers as On The Soul, is one of the best-known dialogues of Plato's middle period, along with the Republic and the Symposium. The philosophical subject of the dialogue is the immortality of the soul.

Genres: Philosophy

204 pages, Paperback

Published June 4, 2022

About the author

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."

Reviews

[Abraham Smitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

He's the bomb diggity

[Sal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this for a free Coursera course on Kierkegaard and the Crisis of Modernity. I read them a long time ago, but it's a nice reminder to always think critically, especially in the cases when things seem most obvious.