The Last Days of Socrates Paperback – 6 May 2010

Amazing book and great translation. The content itself is a great primer for the socratic method and a perfect introduction to Plato and Socrates themselves. Ideal for anyone looking to get into philosophy

Probably the best book I've ever read

Not always the most interesting read but the translation is great and easy to follow

The last days of a great teacher by his pupil, the best western philosopher.

I am new to reading Plato's works on Socrates and have never studied philosophy at any educational level. Therefore, I came to this book as a 30 year old with no previous knowledge of Socrates (aside from knowing of him) or Plato's dialogues.It has been said in other reviews but I totally agree that these four dialogues that make up this book are the best place to start for reading Socratic philosophy. I actually tried to read Early Socratic Dialogues (Penguin Classics) first but aside from an excellent introduction on the life and work of Socrates, I found the book very difficult to read. It is filled with extensive footnotes and explanations during each dialogue that make reading it disruptive and difficult. I did read most of that book but gave up towards the end, with a view to coming back to it in future when I am more familiar with Plato's work.I then began reading The Last Days of Socrates and this was a completely different experience. There again is a great introduction but reading the dialogues this time is a much more involving and understood journey. As the title suggests, these four dialogues of Plato's tell the end of Socrates and do so in a way that has much less commentary during the text (though there is some) and generally aims not to confuse or patronise the reader.As I understand it, the first 3 dialogues of this book were written around the same time and are much shorter in length than the final dialogue Phaedo. Phaedo is considered a much later work of Plato and is the most difficult to get your head round but is still a very enthralling and enlightening discussion as Socrates is about to drink the cup of poison.The highlight for me though is Apology. This is the dialogue concerned with Socrates trial and sentencing, and is one of those writings that simply blew me away. I don't want to go into much detail how and why, but it's simply to do with how Socrates speaks to the jury (his condemners) after he has been told he will die. It really is extraordinary and eye-opening stuff.In conclusion, I whole-heartedly recommend this book. I think it is enjoyable, enlightening and a fantastic introduction to the work of Plato and Socrates.

The Last Days of Socrates is moving, powerful and accessible. In the Euthyphro Socrates and Euthyphro discuss piety and impiety, namely what they are; Euthyphro declares that he is indicting his own father for homicide, for killing a labourer who killed a slave, because he thinks it would be impious to do otherwise. Socrates lets us know that he’s has been indicted for impiety by Meletus. Piety and impiety turn out to be what the Gods love and hate, respectively. In the Apology, Socrates gives his defence at his trial against the charges of 'corrupting the young' and 'not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel' to Athens. After a moving and passionate speech, Socrates is condemned to death by the jury. The Crito is the shortest dialogue, in which Socrates rebukes Crito’s plan to help Socrates escape the prison and his fate. He does so by stating that to flee like a fugitive would be to do something unjust to the laws and the city. Finally, the Phaedo is set on the day of Socrates’ execution; Socrates and those present in the prison, mainly Cebes and Simmias, discuss at length the immortality of the soul, where the soul goes, and what happens to it after death, (namely the body and soul separate). The discussion is about 'proving' the immortality of the soul. Ultimately, in a brave, calm and moving manner, Socrates is administered the hemlock poison drink, and subsequently dies. The Last Days of Socrates is powerful, moving and accessible, it is essential reading for anyone, to learn about the last days of this great man, Socrates.

I found this to be insightful but I do doubt the authenticity of the words. This is a fabulous read if you're searching for information on the lives of Greeks, in particular Socrates. If however, you think this will give you an accurate representation of his actual life, I'm afraid we'll never actual know. I'd guess it would be less dramatic than this.Despite this I still found it to be engaging and the writing is especially good. As I said in a previous review, it is more than likely a far cry from the original but you can still admire Plato's simplicity and perfection when it comes to story telling. Like many of the classic Greek writers there is a playful hand here, a man who loved writing and telling stories to the future.

I thought I might be getting in over my head with this,considering the antiquity and seemingly academic nature of the subject.Then I thought "well your just reading it to impress people",finally in the quest for knowledge I relented and purchased it. I was suprised from the start how my fears where unfounded and found the book very illuminating and understandable.The basic concepts of Greek philosophy are put forward and validated through dialogues in such a way as to be accessable to all.On completing this I immediately ordered the Republic and found this to be slightly more demanding in some areas but on the whole understandable. Overall the experience of reading these two books has spurred me on to read more on this subject and you should not hesitate to purchase them.

Good books

朗読に適している。素晴らしい。

The Last Days of Socrates is a essential reading for anyone with an interest in philosophy or Western culture. What I find so amazing about and most ancient philosophy is that the questions it raises are still relevant today. For those readers not familiar with Plato, the author of the four dialogues that make up the book, he lived during the fourth century BC. Plato is credited with founding the Academy in Athens, which was essentially the first institution devoted to philosophical research and teaching. Many scholars claim it was the prototype of all Western universities.It's interesting to note that, Plato was a student of Socrates. And much like Jesus Christ, we have no written documents from Socrates himself. Strangely, this isn't the only similarity between Socrates and Jesus Christ either. Whatever the reason, it seems that many people in modern society believe that the philosophy of the ancients is not relevant to them. I believe the contrary and I'm not sure we're any wiser in the modern era. In fact, I'm quite sure that we aren't. Yes, technology has changed, but life's most important questions have not. And we still don't have answers to them. If anything, there are more distractions and noise that keep us from pondering the mysteries of life today.Anyway, this book is a collection of four early Socratic dialogues: "Euthyphro," "Apology," "Crito," and "Phaedo." Translator Harold Tarrant explains in his introduction that most scholars do not believe the events depicted by Plato actually happened, but rather, they are Plato's depiction of Socratic philosophy in action. It's also worth noting that the Socratic dialogues were not unique to Plato.In the "Euthyphro", Plato writes: "Consider the following point: is the holy approved by the gods because it's holy, or is it holy because it's approved?" This dialogue essentially examines Socrates' questioning of religion, more specifically, holiness or piety. Holiness was one of five Greek virtues. It seems that the purpose of the dialogue is to explore the definitions of holiness by asking the difficult questions. We are left to consider whether Socratic doubt is more truthful and more valuable than unreasoned religious dogmatism. "The question which excites the Socratic mind is how anybody, man or god, can recognize any action as an instance of goodness. What is the standard, and in what terms can we express it?" On that question it must be said that "Euthyphro" fails to provide an answer that suffices.In the "Apology", Plato writes: "It is because they enjoy hearing me examine those who think that they are wise when they are not; an experience which has its amusing side." The classic scenario in a Greek tragedy is when a person of high moral principle is confronted step by step with a bad situation from which there is no escape, oftentimes through a conflict with people of lower moral principles. As the "Apology" demonstrates, the art of writing a tragedy was not lost on Plato.The "Apology", then, is Socrates' self-defense at his trial. Socrates, using his rhetorical skills, talks of the ills apparent in the Athenian government. According to Plato, Socrates did not live an ordinary and quiet life. He didn't care for the things that most people care about: making money, a comfortable home, high status, and political appointments. He certainly was not afraid of dying. As he said, "Nothing can harm a good man either in life or after death, and his fortunes are not a matter of indifference to the gods."Socrates supposedly said: "It is only too likely that neither of us has any knowledge to boast of; but he thinks he knows something which he does not know, whereas I am quite conscious of my ignorance. At any rate it seems that I am wiser than he is to the small extent, that I do not think that I know what I don't know." Accordingly, this book really ought to be read by anyone seeking a liberal education.

war schrecklich lange her, so weit ich mich erinnern kann war es ganz gutwas long time ago, as far as I can remember , it was alright

The Socratic method has frustrated me. I have often despised the critical format which seemed to me to deny all conclusions, but Socrates surprised me. It is as though his methods were on trial and he has to defend them in this book.In the end he gives compelling dialogue offering his own beliefs and offering proofs. Showing how Socratic thinking helped him build strong proofs.I found that he was trying to simmer dogmatism and ignorance out of a dialogue until it became purely intellectual and the outcome under his guidance amazed me. He was brilliant, and I myself was overcome with emotion at his verdict and execution. What a treasure these four socratic dialogues are! I did not expect this book to be one of my favorites of all time but it really is!