Philosophy: Ancient: Plato

Even after twenty-three centuries Plato's work remains the starting-point for the study of logic, metaphysics, and moral and political philosophy. But though his dialogues retain their freshness and immediacy, they can be difficult to follow. Professor Hare has provided a short introduction to Plato's thought that makes their meaning clear.

This incisive book fills the longstanding need for a sound, reliable, and balanced guide to the whole of Plato's philosophical work. Melling describes the different stages in Plato's philosophical development, introduces his different methods and styles of philosophy, and explains why the debates were important then and what sense we can make of them now. Against the background of the ancient Greek world, Melling illuminates Plato the man, his writings, and, above all, why his ideas should be considered important two thousand years after his death.

Contents: The Dialogues as dramatic vision -- Plato the man -- The Platonic corpus -- The Greek heritage of Plato -- Plato's heritage from the early Greek philosophers -- Plato's immediate background : the Sophists -- The historical and the Platonic Socrates -- Plato's circle and audience -- Plato the artist-philosopher -- The philosophy of the artist and the artistic experience -- The theme of the good life -- The efficiently organized city : the Republic -- The good life : "later" treatment -- Plato's "ideas" -- Platonic idealism -- Platonic immortality -- Plato's "later" philosophy -- Plato's mathematical cosmology : his "unwritten philosophy" -- Plato's ethical cosmology : the Timaeus -- Epilogue : Plato and the tradition of "Platonism."