Plato for Everyone

Plato for Everyone

by Aviezer Tucker
Plato for Everyone

Plato for Everyone

by Aviezer Tucker

Paperback

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Overview

Plato's dialogues, featuring his famous mentor Socrates, often prove difficult to understand for many contemporary readers. Students today miss the ancient cultural and historical references, and they have trouble following Plato's arguments as presented in dialogue format. This book remedies these problems by recasting five of Plato's dialogues into accessible and entertaining short stories in modern settings. The Euthyphro becomes a tale about a televangelist bent on disowning his son at a denominational boarding school in rural Virginia; the Crito - retitled "What do you have to do for your country?" - is focused on the question of whether a US citizen who considers a current war to be unjust should avoid a military draft by moving to Canada. In all of the stories (the Meno, the Statesman, and Phaedo are also included), the central character is Socrates, just as in the original dialogues, but here the maverick philosopher appears in twenty-first-century guise. The author, who has taught philosophy for many years, captures the tone, wit, and philosophical essence of Plato's dialogues in a modern English interpretation that is often amusing and fun to read. For instructors looking for an engaging way to interest undergraduates in Plato and for students who find the original works a bit daunting, this book offers an enlightening and enjoyable read.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781616146542
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Publication date: 02/19/2013
Pages: 275
Product dimensions: 8.80(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Aviezer Tucker (Austin, TX) is the author of Our Knowledge of the Past: A Philosophy of Historiography; The Philosophy and Politics of Czech Dissidence: From Patocka to Havel; and numerous scholarly articles. He is also the editor of A Companion to the Philosophy of History and Historiography. He has taught philosophy at universities throughout the world and currently works at the University of Texas-Austin.

Table of Contents

Introduction 5

1 Is It Good to Die for One's Country? (After the Crito) 15

2 The Essence of Cool (After the Meno) 45

3 Good, Evil, and God (After the Euthyphro) 97

4 Your Children Will Condemn You: Socrates's Defense Speech (After the Apology) 125

5 Death and Liberation (After the Phaedo) 159

Suggestions for Further Reading 255

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