1st Edition
Plato and His Contemporaries (RLE: Plato) A Study in Fourth Century Life and Thought
This book helps understand Plato’s writings by describing the circumstances in which they were produced. The author begins with an account of Plato’s life and development and a brief analysis of some of the more difficult points arising from the criticism of Plato’s writings. The remainder of the work considers the total setting – political, literary and philosophical – in which Plato’s writings were produced. There are extensive appendices on the Platonic Epistles, Aristotle and the Theory of Ideas, and on the post-Aristotelian tradition. The result is both a lucid account of Plato himself and a comprehensive view of culture in fifth century Greece.
Part 1: Plato’s Life and Work 1. The Life of Plato – Early Years 2. Plato’s Later Life – Personal Characteristics 3. The Academy 4. The Writings of Plato 5. The Chronology of the Dialogues. Part 2: The Moral and Political Backgrounds 6. The General Moral and Political Background 7. The General Moral and Political Background (continued) 8. The Fourth Century 9. Plato on Contemporary Politics. Part 3: The Literary and Philosophical Backgrounds 10. The Socratic Literature 11. The Socratic Literature (continued) 12. The Socratic Philosophers 13. The Pythagoreans 14. Plato on his Contemporaries. Appendix 1: The Platonic Letters. Appendix 2. Aristotle’s Account of the Historical Origin of the Theory of Ideas. Appendix 3. Socrates and Plato in Post-Aristotelian Tradition. Index of Author quoted. General Index
Biography
Field, G
