The Continuum Companion to Plato

Description

Plato, mathematician, philosopher and founder of the Academy in Athens, is, together with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, universally considered to have laid the foundations of Western philosophy. His philosophical dialogues remain among the most widely read and influential of all philosophical texts and his enduring influence on virtually every area of philosophical enterprise cannot be exaggerated. This comprehensive and accessible guide to Plato's life and times includes more than 140 entries, written by a team of leading experts in the field of ancient philosophy, covering every aspect of Plato's thought. The Companion presents details of Plato's life, historical, philosophical and literary context, synopses of all the dialogues attributed to Plato, a comprehensive overview of the various features, themes and topics apparent in the dialogues, and a thorough account of his enduring influence and the various interpretative approaches applied to his thought throughout the history of philosophy. This is an essential reference tool for anyone working in the field of ancient philosophy.

Gerald A. Press is Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center, USA, and has published widely on Plato.

The editor has assembled a remarkably wide range of contributors, able to cover - as successfully as any team could, within the space of a single volume - the outlines of the complex and fissiparous world of Plato, Platonism, and Platonic interpretation up to the present day. The book represents a unique resource for advanced students and professional scholars alike. -- Christopher Rowe, Emeritus Professor of Greek, Durham University, UK Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through graduate students; general readers. -- A.P. Johnson, Lee University * CHOICE * Gerald Press and his associate editors, Harald Tarrant, Deborah Nails and Francesco Gonzalez, have given us a companion to turn (and return) to for succinct guidance about topics in Plato's philosophy, the intellectual context in which he wrote, and the many different historical and contemporary interpretations of his work . . . Both in overall conception and its individual entries this companion is much to be welcomed . . . The high standard of the contributions and the rich array of entries make this companion an excellent resource for courses on Plato or individual dialogues, while it also has much to offer to anyone who wants a concise and up-to-date introduction to aspects of Plato, his work, or his philosophy. -- Albert Joosse, Universitat Freiburg, Breisgau * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *