"The Dialogues of Plato, Volume 2" by Plato

The Dialogues of Plato, Volume 2 The Symposium Plato, R. E. Allen

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Series:: The Dialogues of Plato
Format:: Paperback
Publication date:: 25 Aug 1993
ISBN:: 9780300056990
Imprint:: Yale University Press
Dimensions:: 192 pages: 235 x 156mm
Sales territories:: World

Categories:

Humanities »
Philosophy »

R. E. Allen’s superb new translation of Plato’s Symposium brings this classic text to life for modern readers. Allen supplements his translation with a commentary that not only enriches our understanding of Plato’s philosophy and the world of Greek antiquity but also provides insights into present-day philosophical concerns.

Allen reveals the unity of Plato’s intentions in the Symposium, explores the dialogue’s major themes, and links them with Plato’s other dialogues. His wide-ranging commentary includes discussions of Greek religious, social, and sexual practices, the conceptual connections between the Symposium and Freud, the influence of the Symposium on later writers, and recent scholarship on the dialogue. Allen’s primary focus is philosophical, however, and he succeeds in explicating the doctrine of Eros in Plato’s Symposium so that the reader can see how wish and desire relate to Plato’s moral philosophy, epistemology, and metaphysics.

"This book will be of immense value to students of philosophy and literature and should interest general readers as well."—Library Journal

"An important event in the world of scholarship."—London Review of Books (on Volume 1)

"Remarkable erudition, dialectical sophistication, and good sense are at work here. The result is a readable and interesting book that is likely to be the standard work on the Symposium for a long time to come."—Robert G. Turnbull, Ohio State University