All of Plato’s dialogues are written in a poetic form that his student Aristotle called 'Socratic dialogue.' In the twentieth century, the British philosopher and logician Alfred North Whitehead characterized the entire European philosophical tradition as 'a series of footnotes to Plato.' Philosophy for Plato was not a set of doctrines but a goal - not the possession of wisdom but the love of wisdom. Although the historical Socrates was a strong influence on Plato, the character by that name that appears in many of his dialogues is a product of Plato’s fertile imagination. He wrote approximately two-dozen dialogues that explore core topics that are essential to all human beings. The reason is that rich and famous politicians, priests, poets, and a host of others pretend to know what is good, true, holy, and beautiful, but when Socrates questions them they are shown to be foolish rather than wise. He presents his own defense, explaining why he has devoted his life to challenging the most powerful and important people in the Greek world. He is charged with impiety and corrupting young people. It is set in the last hours prior to the death of Socrates.Socrates is on trial for his life. The philosophical subject of the dialogue is the immortality of the soul. Phaedo is one of Plato’s best-known dialogues. Meno introduces Socrates’ positive ideas: the immortality of the soul, the theory of knowledge as recollection, the method of hypothesis, and, in the final lines, the distinction between knowledge and true belief. Socrates thinks that injustice may not be answered with injustice and refuses Crito’s offer to finance his escape from prison. The dialogue is a defense against the charges of “corrupting the youth” and not believing in the gods in whom the city believes.Ĭrito depicts a conversation between Socrates and his wealthy friend Crito regarding justice, injustice, and the appropriate response to injustice. The dialogue covers subjects such as the meaning of piety and justice.Īpology is the Socratic dialogue that presents the speech of legal self-defense, which Socrates presented at his trial for impiety and corruption in 399 BC. It includes: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, and Phaedo.Įuthyphro is a Socratic dialogue whose events occur in the weeks before the trial of Socrates, between Socrates and Euthyphro. Grube's distinguished translations, as revised by John Cooper for Plato's complete works. The second edition of Five Dialogues presents G.M.A.

The apology plato audio