Protagoras and Meno

by Plato, Lesley Brown (Introduction), Adam Beresford (Translator)

Overview

Exploring the question of what exactly makes good people good, Protagoras and Meno are two of the most enjoyable and accessible of all of Plato's dialogues. Widely regarded as his finest dramatic work, the Protagoras, set during the golden age of Pericles, pits a youthful Socrates against the revered sophist Protagoras, whose brilliance and humanity make him one the most interesting and likeable of Socrates' philosophical opponents, and turns their encounter into a genuine and lively battle of minds. The Meno sees an older but ever ironic Socrates humbling a proud young aristocrat as they search for a clear understanding of what it is to be a good man, and setting out the startling idea that all human learning may be the recovery of knowledge already possessed by our immortal souls.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780141928234
Publisher:	Penguin UK
Publication date:	10/27/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

As the father of Western philosophy, who transformed Greek thought with his questioning insights into life and ethics, Socrates (470-399 bc) was a powerful inspiration - and major irritant - to the Athenians of his day. After his trial and execution on charges of heresy and the corruption of young minds, his greatest pupil Plato (c. 427-347 bc) wrote a series of dialogues as an act of homage.


Lesley Brown is Centenary Fellow in Philosophy at Somerville College, Oxford, and the author of numerous articles and book chapters on Plato and Aristotle.

Table of Contents

	Preface	vii
	Protagoras	1
	On the Protagoras	67
	Meno	91
	On the Meno	137
Appendix	Xenophon's Assessment of Meno (Anabasis of Cyrus 2.6.21-27)	153

What People are Saying About This

James H. Nichols

"Robert C. Bartlett's translations of Protagoras and Meno display a degree of accuracy and literalness that makes them most suitable for scholarly and teaching purposes. The consistency with which Bartlett has translated terms enables the reader to confidently develop an interpretation of Plato's meaning as the terms recur in the dialogues. His notes and introductory essays are thoughtful, learned, and well-designed guides to assist the reader toward a serious confrontation with the philosophic issues dealt with in the texts. They raise questions, sketch lines of interpretation, and guide one toward one's own thinking rather than declaring the definitive interpretation or examining the questions exhaustively, which makes them ideal for classroom use."

Edward Moore

"The overall value of Bartlett's translation is very high. The footnotes are extraordinarily helpful; the prose is clear and readable; and the interpretive essays will surely prove to be an excellent source of classroom discussion. This volume is a welcome addition to Plato scholarship."

Editorial Reviews

"The overall value of Bartlett's translation is very high. The footnotes are extraordinarily helpful; the prose is clear and readable; and the interpretive essays will surely prove to be an excellent source of classroom discussion. This volume is a welcome addition to Plato scholarship."—Edward Moore, St. Elias School of Orthodox Theology, Philosophy in Review, Vol. 24, No. 4-6, Aug-Dec 2004

"Robert C. Bartlett's translations of Protagoras and Meno display a degree of accuracy and literalness that makes them most suitable for scholarly and teaching purposes. The consistency with which Bartlett has translated terms enables the reader to confidently develop an interpretation of Plato's meaning as the terms recur in the dialogues. His notes and introductory essays are thoughtful, learned, and well-designed guides to assist the reader toward a serious confrontation with the philosophic issues dealt with in the texts. They raise questions, sketch lines of interpretation, and guide one toward one's own thinking rather than declaring the definitive interpretation or examining the questions exhaustively, which makes them ideal for classroom use."—James H. Nichols, Claremont McKenna College

From the Publisher