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And then there is Phaedo including Socrates musing on the meaning of life, the sense in which we have immortality and what it is we are seeking to discovery in our inquiry, a model of the ascetic philosopher's life and much more - an elaborate rationalized exposition of the Pythagorean mysteries. He translates as though he is translating a modern French thinker. This contains the dialogs of Plato (as told through the mouth of Socrates). This translation makes these works meaningful again instead of yet another ancient-Greek-sounding-pompous mockery of the literary style of Plato. It will pretty much make a Platonist of almost anybody open to the spirit of idealism. This includes the Apology at Socrates' trial and sentencing to death, Crito, Meno - the basis of the dialectic/evolution of knowledge/scientific method of rediscovering the truth of everything with inquiry and self-correction. Very, very deep and extremely intimately translation.
Maybe by the end of the semester I will have changed my mind about that. It is not a book I would have purchased on my own as I am not one of those people that asks "why." about everything. So, if you are into deeper thinking, this would be a great book. This book was significantly cheaper through Amazon than through the school bookstore. It arrived in great condition and it seems like it is a nicely done book.
Anyone that even slightly desires read about philosophy should at least start wih this as a primer. I highly recommend this book. It made me want to read more of Plato's dialogues.
In sum, I highly recommend this booklet as a prerequisite to beinning any study of philosophy, hence, logic.Gary L. In fact, no matter what field of study you are going into, you will appreciate the use of logic presented in this fantastic "story" format. Foley, MBA If you are entering college as a freshman and especially if you are entering the field of Philosophy, I urge you to buy this book. Read it, study it, and learn its' tools of wisdom.
I would reread sections mainly to see the the delicacy of the argument, not because certain concepts were too philosophical and hard to grasp.All the same, it's five books on philosophy, though the bulk of the text is Phaedo, so you have to be in the mindset to read that material. I had to buy this book for a freshmen philosophy course, five years later I decided to read it cover to cover and see what all the real fuss was about.First off, between the back-and-forth of Socrates and the excellent translation by Grube, this book is much easier to read then many other philosophy texts (most notably, Descartes). I am not going to argue the logic of the book here, but since most of it is repetitive questions, use of analogies, and point-counterpoint, I found this very easy to follow and understand.
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