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mabeaver84's review against another edition
5.0
Good translation and good notes for the beginning reader.
hrlukz's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this up on a whim when clearing out my Grandma's flat. I don't think I had any lasting intention to read it, but thought it would look nice on my shelf (it's a beautiful brown copy from many years ago) and contribute to that illusion of academia I like to surround myself with in the hopes it will actually prompt me to do some work. A year later, suffering from the loss of my other Grandma, this stood out to me when rifling through my shelves for no reason other than it is short. I don't think it could have come at a better time (and I don't believe in coincidences). Monumentally comforting, I can't help but feel her speak to me in the pages of this, suggesting (if not assuring) the persistence of a soul that is completely hers even now that she's gone, in a language she perhaps knew I would take to more readily than her own simplified, unwilling-to-elaborate, religious convictions. This is an amalgamation of all thoughts and creeds and ideas and beliefs. Reincarnation, judgement, purgatory, monotheism; it is nice to know you really can be a melting pot, and depressing to know even one of the greatest thinkers of all time could not shake off his sexist brain cells. I am sure my Grandma would have something to say about that. I am grateful she sent this my way, through the hands of the woman who bears the same relation to me as she did (and always will).
anotherpath's review against another edition
4.0
I mean. Socrates! My exposure to Plato and Socrates thus far has been largely text-book and referential. Plato is one of those guys I just never really knew how to approach, and then the other day I was at Arc (I buy a lot of books thrift, I just look for nice editions of classics to add to my collection, and all Penguin Black Paperbacks get considered) and this guy showed up. My edition had four separate re-sell/library stickers on them, and I'm pretty sure it had never actually been read. The wear was all in the cover and not in the spine. I enjoy thinking about the life of the book before it comes to me.
Anyway. This collection contains the Euthyphro/Apology/Crito/Phaedo. The first two are context setters and characterize Socrates among his peers. Crito reads like a non-Platonian fan-fiction of Socrates, and I was there for it. Phaedo is the real work of the body, taking up half the book alongside Tarrant's commentary, which I really appreciated.
Socrates was peerless, bull-headed sure, but he was a man of his word and integrity and I admire him deeply. His Socratic Irony is one of my own favorite tools to use. He was a great and godly man, and this work depicts him well.
Much of Phaedo was dedicated to Plato's views on The Law of Opposites, which I was giddy about. Some of his technical arguments don't hold up, and that's ok, the essence of his wisdom is always there.
His conceptions of Heaven and Earth are beautiful. When he then says not to take his conceptions as literal truths, but approximations approaching it, I appreciated his wisdom in doing so. I wish there were Biblical authors with such insight and wisdom. That he saw the universe as driven by Intelligence is massively comforting to me.
"This explanation pleased me. Somehow it seemed right that Intelligence should be the reason for everything; and I reflected that if this is so, in the course of its arrangement Intelligence sets everything in order and arranges each individual thing in the way that is best for it."
"Every secret after wisdom knows that up to the time when philosophy takes it over his soul is a helpless prisoner, chained hand and foot in the body, compelled to view reality not directly but only through its prison bars, and wallowing in utter ignorance. And philosophy can see the ingenuity of the imprisonment, which is brought about by the prisoner's own active desire, which makes him first accessory to his own confinement. Well philosophy takes over the soul in this condition and by gentle persuasion tries to set it free."
Anyway. This collection contains the Euthyphro/Apology/Crito/Phaedo. The first two are context setters and characterize Socrates among his peers. Crito reads like a non-Platonian fan-fiction of Socrates, and I was there for it. Phaedo is the real work of the body, taking up half the book alongside Tarrant's commentary, which I really appreciated.
Socrates was peerless, bull-headed sure, but he was a man of his word and integrity and I admire him deeply. His Socratic Irony is one of my own favorite tools to use. He was a great and godly man, and this work depicts him well.
Much of Phaedo was dedicated to Plato's views on The Law of Opposites, which I was giddy about. Some of his technical arguments don't hold up, and that's ok, the essence of his wisdom is always there.
His conceptions of Heaven and Earth are beautiful. When he then says not to take his conceptions as literal truths, but approximations approaching it, I appreciated his wisdom in doing so. I wish there were Biblical authors with such insight and wisdom. That he saw the universe as driven by Intelligence is massively comforting to me.
"This explanation pleased me. Somehow it seemed right that Intelligence should be the reason for everything; and I reflected that if this is so, in the course of its arrangement Intelligence sets everything in order and arranges each individual thing in the way that is best for it."
"Every secret after wisdom knows that up to the time when philosophy takes it over his soul is a helpless prisoner, chained hand and foot in the body, compelled to view reality not directly but only through its prison bars, and wallowing in utter ignorance. And philosophy can see the ingenuity of the imprisonment, which is brought about by the prisoner's own active desire, which makes him first accessory to his own confinement. Well philosophy takes over the soul in this condition and by gentle persuasion tries to set it free."
snowblu3's review against another edition
2.0
Read for a class. Let's just say I don't enjoy philosophy.
antony_monir's review against another edition
4.0
As philosophy, the works of Plato (Socrates) are outdated. Most of the ideas have been superseded with superior ones since the times of the greeks. Yet, people persist in reading the works of Plato and other Socratic philosophers. Why is that the case? For me, the reason was simple: historical interest. I want to learn philosophy from the first written works of Heraclitus and Parmenides through the writings of Singer and beyond. Plato is an essential writer of western philosophy, whether you agree with his writings or not. Reading this work, I was surprised to see the origin of many elements of popular philosophy today. The arguments for free will and the eternity of the soul in the Phaedo resemble those used by theological scholars. In fact this is no coincidence as Christianity and to some extent other religions too are largely platonic in their beliefs. There are many powerful ideas and questions here that are enunciated by Socrates and some of them retain their validity even today. The Euthyphro dilemma is one of them. Of course, there is the persistent nagging thought in the back of my mind about the truthfulness of the dialogues. It is now believed that much of what was written by Plato about Socrates is fictional. I just think it’s quite funny that Plato was potentially going around making up stories about his dead teacher destroying people in arguments that may have never occurred. Regardless of all that, I think the Last Days of Socrates is an important and powerful work of philosophy that is also easily accessible. 4/5.