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Title: Legendary Philosophers: The Life and Philosophy of Socrates
Author: Charles River Editors
Narrator: Gabrielle Byrne
Format: Unabridged
Length: 1 hr and 39 mins
Language: English
Release date: 07-10-15
Publisher: Charles River Editors
Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes
Genres: History, Ancient
Publisher's Summary:
"As for me, all I know is that I know nothing, for when I don't know what justice is, I'll hardly know whether it is a kind of virtue or not, or whether a person who has it is happy or unhappy." - attributed to Socrates in Plato's The Republic
In 427 B.C., the Ancient Greek city-state of Athens was flourishing. Approximately 80 years earlier, the Athenians had formed the first self-representative democracy in history, the Peloponnesian War against Sparta had only just started, and Socrates was only beginning to lay the foundation of what would become Western philosophy.
None of Socrates' works survived antiquity, so most of what is known about him came from the writings of his followers, most notably Plato. What is known about Socrates is that he seemed to make a career out of philosophy, and Plato was intent on following in his footsteps. Yet for all of the influence of Socrates' life on his followers, it was Socrates' death around 399 B.C. that truly shaped them. Plato was so embittered by Socrates' trial in Athens that he completely soured on Athenian democracy, and Aristotle would later criticize politicians who relied on rhetoric; when Aristotle's own life was threatened, he fled Greece and allegedly remarked, "I will not allow the Athenians to sin twice against philosophy."
Members Reviews:
An Excerpt and Nothing More
This book is simply an excerpt of another, larger volume on Ancient Greek philosophy:Antiquity's Greatest Philosophers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. In fact, this is an exact, cut-and-past excerpt from the aforementioned book. Moreover, I do not recommend this as a good source for information on Socrates and discourage any serious reader in ancient philosophy to seek elsewhere. The following is an excerpt from my review[1] on the book from which this was essay was taken:
"[T]he section on Socrates is essentially that of Plato's mouthpiece and not necessarily the actual life of the man behind the name. Moreover, the chapters regarding Socrates quickly digress into a discussion of Plato's beliefs and views, or at the very least with his relationship to the philosopher. There is in fact very little about Socrates in this essay that can be identified as strictly belonging to him and not his quasi-fictional counterpart in Plato's dialogues. I find this to be very disappointing, for I am a major fan of Socrates and upon first glance at the length of his section in comparison to the others, I was ecstatic. Needless to say, what I discovered dampened the mood significantly."
I hope this helps.
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[1] - http://www.amazon.com/review/R3JN1LYPJDQ53I/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00B7JXRNU
The Life and Philosophy of Socrates
This is a good overview of the legendary and historical entity known to us, through the writings of Plato, as Socrates. It whets our appetite to know more about him and his philosophy, and briefly introduces it to us.