Philosophy

Plato: Complete Works

Plato: Complete Works

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Summary

Outstanding translations by leading contemporary scholars--many commissioned especially for this volume--are presented here in the first single edition to include the entire surviving corpus of works attributed to Plato in antiquity。 In his introductory essay， John Cooper explains the presentation of these works， discusses questions concerning the chronology of their composition， comments on the dialogue form in which Plato wrote， and offers guidance on approaching the reading and study of Plato's works。

Also included are concise introductions by Cooper and Hutchinson to each translation， meticulous annotation designed to serve both scholar and general reader， and a comprehensive index。 This handsome volume offers fine paper and a high-quality Smyth-sewn cloth binding in a sturdy， elegant edition。

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Reviews

Erik Champenois ，

I never read the whole book but am taking it off of my "currently reading" list as it may be some years before I get back to completing it。 Plato's dialogues are always interesting and entertaining to read and at some point I'll have to finish the volume。 I never read the whole book but am taking it off of my "currently reading" list as it may be some years before I get back to completing it。 Plato's dialogues are always interesting and entertaining to read and at some point I'll have to finish the volume。 。。。more

Basilius ，

My review of the Apology of SocratesMy review of ProtagorasMy review of Phaedrus My review of the Apology of SocratesMy review of ProtagorasMy review of Phaedrus 。。。more

Nicole Dust ，

Partially read for school。

Aaron ，

Plato often surprised me by his humor and ability to be dramatic。 He is concerned with how to argue and dramatizes the very human emotions that occur in arguments。 I would love to see some of his dialogues--especially the Symposium--turned into movies or plays。 Regarding this edition of the Plato's works: the introductory notes and occasional footnotes were helpful， but I often went to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy or other editions of certain dialogues that I own （like Bloom's transla Plato often surprised me by his humor and ability to be dramatic。 He is concerned with how to argue and dramatizes the very human emotions that occur in arguments。 I would love to see some of his dialogues--especially the Symposium--turned into movies or plays。 Regarding this edition of the Plato's works: the introductory notes and occasional footnotes were helpful， but I often went to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy or other editions of certain dialogues that I own （like Bloom's translation of the Republic） for help in understanding certain ideas or passages。 。。。more

ألاء ，

لا أعرف إذا ما كنت حقا سأتابع هذا المشروع بأي قدر من الجدية هذا العام لكن لدي الأعمال الكاملة في مجلد واحد ولا رغبة لدي حاليا في البحث عنها فرادى:-D

Joshua ，

I've read a few of Plato's dialogues once， a few more several times， but this year was the first time I'd read through all of the dialogues completely。 It was satisfying to see some of the same the ideas appear across dialogues。 Some highlights: I read Parmenides in graduate school and was told that it was probably Plato's most difficult dialogue。 Now I can say first hand that I agree。 The complexity of the dialectic and its repetitive nature make it a hard one to follow and enjoy， but it is inv I've read a few of Plato's dialogues once， a few more several times， but this year was the first time I'd read through all of the dialogues completely。 It was satisfying to see some of the same the ideas appear across dialogues。 Some highlights: I read Parmenides in graduate school and was told that it was probably Plato's most difficult dialogue。 Now I can say first hand that I agree。 The complexity of the dialectic and its repetitive nature make it a hard one to follow and enjoy， but it is invaluable as a model of dialectic done rigorously。 Phaedo may be a new favorite for me。 The theme itself is compelling， but it is also may be Socrates at his most admirable。 There are more things to say， but I don't have the inclination to reflect on them here。 Maybe I'll post an update at a later date。 。。。more

Gary Beauregard Bottomley ，

I don’t think I have ever had a more satisfying reading experience than this book of the complete works of Plato and some that aren’t but at one time were believed to have been written by Plato。 The introduction by the editor to each book are welcomed and gives the reader an indication of what is to come。 The editor says， for example， Alcibiades almost certainly wasn’t written by Plato and the reader can tell because it has a clear overall message with a coherent resolution and that is not Plato I don’t think I have ever had a more satisfying reading experience than this book of the complete works of Plato and some that aren’t but at one time were believed to have been written by Plato。 The introduction by the editor to each book are welcomed and gives the reader an indication of what is to come。 The editor says， for example， Alcibiades almost certainly wasn’t written by Plato and the reader can tell because it has a clear overall message with a coherent resolution and that is not Plato’s way， but belongs in this collection just in case and besides works incredibly well as a follow up to Symposium and is just as edifying。 A small trivia point， symposium in Greek means drinking party， so the next time you are forced to go to a symposium just remember that it’s not a real one since you don’t get to drink booze and pontificate， but， rather， you have to listen to others bloviate and if your lucky the most you can have is a cup of coffee and the satisfaction that us moderns are doing symposiums all wrong。 There’s a reason why I see a lot of people react negatively to perhaps the greatest book ever written or at least arguably the most influential， Plato’s Republic。 In the absence of the context of what Plato was writing elsewhere before and even after he wrote Republic and his time period he was living in and what he is really all about Republic can seem weird and nonsensical and the novitiate can miss its importance and relevance to the human experience。 Like most people， I’ve read my Plato from time to time and I would do it in a scatter shot approach and read whatever of his that would cross my notice and therefore would not get the coherence that Plato requires。 This book provides a much-needed cohesion to my previous Plato wanderings。 I did not realize how important Homer was to Plato and I’ve started reading Hind’s graphic novel on The Iliad to plug up some of my holes on the true Gods， Greek history and its meaning and why Homer is worth understanding today。 Of all the books I have ever read the Complete Works of Plato would be on the top of my short list to take with me when I invent a time machine and go to the far distant future， because it is always satisfying and never really answers the unanswerable questions which drive us as humans （why am I here， what is true， what is deserving of my time， …。） while it always gives a road map for how one should answer those kind of nagging questions。 Plato will say within Laws ‘that all change except for evil is destructive’。 That is a guiding principle within Plato。 He also gets at that we are in a paradox and that irony is jealous of authenticity while showing Socrates as the true ironist （c。f。 Kierkegaard）， and he argues that we most of all need to cure ourselves of our own ignorance， or he asks whether or not if virtue can be taught; and he questions what is real from appearance， being verse becoming， what is justice， and about a hundred other such other worthwhile considerations。 At times， especially within Gorgias and Protagoras and a couple of other books， I felt like I was reading Nietzsche， and within other books such as Timaeus and Republic one gets Plotinus， the most important writer ever。 Oh heck， I could go on， because the connections between later writers and what is within this book overwhelms who we are today。 Just an odd note， the least satisfying of all the books to me was Laws， it went on and on and Plato was taking himself seriously and wanted to make the Republic less of a metaphor about justice and more about how a real republic should be formed while laying a foundation for a divine power that will later be reconciled with a Christian world （the soul comes before things and reason moves the universe of things）。 Overall， it’s easy to see how Christianity latches on to the complete works of Plato and makes the Pagan Plato one of their own。 I’ve been concurrently reading Livy’s History of Rome and the contrast between Plato and Livy is remarkable。 On almost every other page Livy will speak about liberty （freedom） as the ultimate virtue for the Romans and Plato speaks about justice as the ultimate virtue for the Greeks， and Plato thinks that if we can just learn what justice is we can become virtuous all the while never quite realizing that if we can ask the question about something that it doesn’t really mean it necessarily exist （who won the Cubs game last night？ maybe， perhaps， the Cubs just didn’t play last night！）。I would say that if you ever get the urge to read a modern-day self-help book， or a book on religion just do yourself a favor and read （or even better， reread） this book。 You won’t regret it and you will learn something about who we and you are today。 By the way， Plato is just a good writer and explains the world deductively。 Aristotle is a bad writer and explains the world inductively。 Regretfully， Aristotle with his bad writing is also worthwhile for today’s audience， and I will try to read his complete works soon。 。。。more

Aman ，

The value of Plato is beyond words， though perhaps I will provide a fuller review in time。 I read the entire corpus。

Jordan Faulkner ，

Quite frankly the greatest collection of knowledge that i have ever read。

Ajax ，

I have yet to read= Laws and Letters

Ivan Herrejon ，

It's Plato。 It's Plato。 。。。more

Aden2g ，

Based

Mobius1 ，

It is the obligation of every human to read Plato。

Matthias ，

For the long version of this review， see my notes and highlights。 For the short version of this review: feel free to skip the early dialogues， and read for cultural weirdness and prompts to thinking rather than "wise Plato will tell me how to be virtuous" or the equally understandable and equally useless counter-reaction of "wow look at how bad Plato's opinions are。"（I didn't read any of these as closely as they deserved - though I did make a daily discursive meditation practice out of it， which For the long version of this review， see my notes and highlights。 For the short version of this review: feel free to skip the early dialogues， and read for cultural weirdness and prompts to thinking rather than "wise Plato will tell me how to be virtuous" or the equally understandable and equally useless counter-reaction of "wow look at how bad Plato's opinions are。"（I didn't read any of these as closely as they deserved - though I did make a daily discursive meditation practice out of it， which is another valuable thing I got from this - and I tried to stay away from secondary literature， because you only get to go in blind once。 Both are reasons to revisit many of these dialogues， obviously。）For the medium version， a few themes that stuck out at me。 The division of laborThe economics of the division of labor play a central role in all of the most seminal thinkers of the transition to modernity - Smith， Marx， Weber。 I was surprised to find that this was true of Plato as well， because it seems incidental in just about every dialogue other than Laws （which no one reads） and Republic （which， to be fair， everyone does。） But you read every dialogue and it looms in every single one， I think it's fair to say that there's something going on。 Socrates asks some variation of "is this knowledge like the knowledge of a medical doctor？。。。 of a ship's pilot？。。。 of a cobbler？" so consistently that there are even meta-jokes around it， like a TV show where the writers start responding to the fans' memes。Plato's position as an aristocrat in a sort-of-democratic society with a huge slave population and a booming commercial economy is the obvious background here。 He's got snobbery towards manual workers of all kinds and especially towards the enslaved， whose capacity for virtue is constantly impeached （and not as an overt condemnation of slavery， though you could probably develop it in that direction。） He's got a hierachical model of metaphysics （and love） that matches this vertical principle。 But the division of labor， and its creation of bonds of mutual dependence， exists in a constant dialectical tension with this。 The specialized knowledge of the philosopher and of virtue is constantly adduced from examples to specialized knowledge in other fields， as is the need to always defer to the relevantly specialized person。 In Republic， most prominently， the need for specialized production forms the basis for civilization as such， no less than in Smith （and， no less than in Marx， a multitude of evils flow from the establishment of class society， though that is glossed over） and "justice" comes to be defined as everyone sticking to their own place。Form， medium， and ironyFrom the beginning， when Socrates protests to the criminal court that he's at a loss because he lacks natural eloquence and launches into a highly eloquent and stylized speech， to written condemnations of writing， to sophistical refutations of sophists， Plato is really interested in form-content tensions。 And dialogues are great at this， because （1） while a wholly written form they are one more obviously in imitation of speech than other genres， and （2） by placing the words in the mouth of another， you get more critical distance between what is said and what Plato thinks。 That said， despite or rather alongside all the critical comments on writing， you can see the shift from a more "speakerly" style in the beginning to a more "writerly" one later on， one that redounds to the benefit of the subtlety and interestingness of the dialogues。 That is， the most frustrating thing about the early dialogues is how， with granted a bit of stylistic smoothing over， they seem like the sort of philosophical conversation Socrates might have had with real-life Athenians - something that would be more satisfying if they weren't constantly leaning on the fact that people are a lot easier to lead around， and a lot less capable of spotting a contradiction， in spoken than written word。 The problem with the early dialogues， then， is that Socrates has few worthy opponents， and so his tripping them up doesn't lead to many interesting conclusions。Later on， we shift from this to worthier opponents， longer speeches， and more abiguous and subtle claims， which increasingly take the form of myths。 And the myths are just great。 （Can you spot the structural parallels/inversions between the Ring of Gyges and the Cave？） And I suspect they are great largely because they force you to do what the early "Socrates" doesn't， which is read charitably。 The power of wordsThis is perhaps an expansion of the above， but Plato is very concerned with the power that words have， and the ability to derive truth value from discourse or dialectic alone。 This is clear in his two most consistent opponents - the Sophists， who argue cynically， too unfaithfully to dialectic - and then the worthy opponent， Parmenides， who speaks seemingly too faithfully to dialectic， so constrained that he can't speak of anything but a metaphysical abstraction。 Both of these are temptations to "Socrates" and Plato's entire project of arriving at a not merely instrumentally practical （as the sophists'） and not merely self-consistent （as the Eleatics'） form of dialectic。NumerologyThere's something going on with the number four in Plato， with it signifying， maybe， completion？ Is this a Pythagorean thing？？？？？？？ idk guess i should get around to that secondary reading 。。。more

Chris ，

Amazin！

Peter J。 ，

Looking through my bookshelves， I noticed that I overlooked providing a review and rating for this work （actually collection of works）。 I cannot permit this oversight。 Plato is among my top 3 favorite authors。 Going through these works changed the way I look at the world， and armed me with more potent weaponry to combat error， and the vice which inevitably springs from it。 I cannot recommend these works strongly enough。 A familiarity with Greek culture， history， and the vernacular of the late 19 Looking through my bookshelves， I noticed that I overlooked providing a review and rating for this work （actually collection of works）。 I cannot permit this oversight。 Plato is among my top 3 favorite authors。 Going through these works changed the way I look at the world， and armed me with more potent weaponry to combat error， and the vice which inevitably springs from it。 I cannot recommend these works strongly enough。 A familiarity with Greek culture， history， and the vernacular of the late 19th century men who blessed the world by translating these works， makes any attempt at reading， far more fruitful。 。。。more

Matheus ，

Read:EuthyphroApologyCritoPhaedo

Kaylyn ，

Only read maybe 1/4th of all the Platonic dialogues。。。but for just a month of reading imma take this W fam。 Highlights include the Symposium （because I am indeed a human female）， Apology， Phaedrus， and Protagoras。 Socrates you sly fuck， I love you but time to move on bby （jk c you Monday for the republic hehe）

Christian Lee Agraviador ，

Amazing。This is the authoritative translation of Plato's works。 It is also very readable。 Amazing。This is the authoritative translation of Plato's works。 It is also very readable。 。。。more

Chechen Itza ，

A really great book with a very informative general introduction and very helpful introductions before each dialogue。

Nathan Wikman ，

Ok I only read 80% of this but。。。。come on I had to skip some

Thomas St Thomas ，

I’m not a huge fan， but I understand why this book is so important。 It’s not as much fun to read as the plays and stories but the insight through reasoning is incredibly important here。

Emma ，

Not really finished reading， since the book itself can be a phD degree。 But， I enjoyed my read so far。

eggcorn ，

if ur not with plato ur not with me

Ranjan Patel， Psy。D， MFT ，

Read it in college， as a philosophy （double） major with psychology--and this launched me down a ideological and theoretical quagmire， a maelstrom of questioning and then some。 I fell in love with Plato's notion fo the "ideal。" Imagine a fresh faced 18 year old， with little real life experience， wanting to believe that everything has an ideal version of the thing itself， so taken was I with this， I equated it with fact。 Thank-god I came out of this phase， but reading this tome is an ambitious pro Read it in college， as a philosophy （double） major with psychology--and this launched me down a ideological and theoretical quagmire， a maelstrom of questioning and then some。 I fell in love with Plato's notion fo the "ideal。" Imagine a fresh faced 18 year old， with little real life experience， wanting to believe that everything has an ideal version of the thing itself， so taken was I with this， I equated it with fact。 Thank-god I came out of this phase， but reading this tome is an ambitious project。 You may as well forget reading anything else for a while。 It's dense and requires commitment。 If you're inclined to philosophy and non-fiction， this is for you， though you'd also have to be partial to early Greek notions where it all began。 It's very well structured， logically presented， and well-written， if a bit dry。 。。。more

Joel Gn ，

Probably will not read this from cover to cover again， but it definitely deserves to be on the shelf of any serious scholar in literature and philosophy。

David Chmelik ，

In Plato's dialogues， The Republic is the best ancient/Classical political philosophy book （in mathematicist rationalist idealism，） about what society could be like， that includes other topics like philosophy of mind。 Maybe some others are just as good （such as Aristotle's） but I forgot。 Most of Plato's ideas are timeless， and republic， originally （before the term was altered/demonized） ‘aristocracy’ （‘rule by the best，’ not nobles/royals）， now renamed ‘meritocracy’ （rule by the meritorious） is In Plato's dialogues， The Republic is the best ancient/Classical political philosophy book （in mathematicist rationalist idealism，） about what society could be like， that includes other topics like philosophy of mind。 Maybe some others are just as good （such as Aristotle's） but I forgot。 Most of Plato's ideas are timeless， and republic， originally （before the term was altered/demonized） ‘aristocracy’ （‘rule by the best，’ not nobles/royals）， now renamed ‘meritocracy’ （rule by the meritorious） is still a system that humanity should try。 I liked the various parables about philosophy of mind and society， such as the cave， the sun， and the divided line。 A serious student of Plato might be suggested to read certain other dialogues first （I'm not sure which， except they're some of the shorter ones，） which I read some of the beginner ones （forgot which） but The Republic might be most well-known because it's book-length and has more ideas。 All of Plato's dialogues are classics， that Western philosophy is said to be footnotes to， that then lead people to the door to Hegel （like Pythagoras， Plato， Descartes， and Leibniz， a mathematicist rationalist idealist。） 。。。more

Amy ，

There is no rush。 Let the dialogues seep in。 I’m really glad I gave myself the gift of going patiently through the grand philosopher king’s collection。

Cameron Ford ，

Hard to understand without instruction， but I tried as best I could。

Patrick ，

I am not really qualified to write a review of Plato。 His ideas are very complex and it requires time to digest。 He teaches you how to think and how to argue。 Everything is here， everything he wrote or was said to write。 So I can say that I have read all of Plato's surviving works。 The reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because I think some of his dialogues are so complex they require a longer explanation than the page or so the editor gives as an introduction。 I would rather have a two v I am not really qualified to write a review of Plato。 His ideas are very complex and it requires time to digest。 He teaches you how to think and how to argue。 Everything is here， everything he wrote or was said to write。 So I can say that I have read all of Plato's surviving works。 The reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because I think some of his dialogues are so complex they require a longer explanation than the page or so the editor gives as an introduction。 I would rather have a two volume work with longer explanations than a single volume where the reader is left to figure out all of Plato's jargon。 He uses quite a bit。 One of his most famous ideas is that of the ideal forms。 He has political ideas that I don't necessarily agree with， especially concerning eugenics and censorship。 I am not finished with Plato， but I think I will look at his works individually in editions that have longer explanations and more footnotes。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Plato: Complete Works

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Plato: Complete Works&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Plato: Complete Works&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0