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Plato, Socrates, and the Dialogues
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Narrated by:
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Michael Sugrue
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Written by:
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Michael Sugrue
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The Great Courses
About this listen
These 16 lectures bring the Socratic quest for truth alive and explore ideas that are as vital today as they were 25 centuries ago - ideas about truth, justice, love, beauty, courage, and wisdom that can change lives and reveal the world in new ways. Here, you'll delve into the inner structure, action, and meaning of 17 of Plato's greatest dialogues, making these lectures an indispensable companion for anyone interested in philosophy in general or Platonic thought in particular.
As you'll learn, the dialogues share some general characteristics - and they all breathe with the feeling, the tension, and even the humor of great theater. Even if you don't have time to reacquaint yourself directly with Platonic texts, you'll benefit enormously from these lectures' insights into the depths of reflection opened by Socrates and Plato - arguably the most important teacher-student pairing in history.
You'll become engrossed in "the romance of the intellect," as Professor Sugrue opens a path for you into the inner structure and action of these selected dialogues, for millennia the objects of devoted study by the noblest minds. These lectures offer no easy answers. What they give instead is much better: an introduction to Platonic "meta-education," the art not of what to think but of how to think. You'll see the stunning subtlety with which Plato weaves together the strengths of philosophy and poetry, dialectic and drama, word and action. And you'll catch a glimpse of the "serious playfulness" that Socrates says the search for the good, the true, and the beautiful can inspire in the human soul.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©1996 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1996 The Great CoursesYou may also enjoy...
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What listeners say about Plato, Socrates, and the Dialogues
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Stefan J. Knibbe
- 2018-09-20
Wonderful Introduction
Wow! Both easy to follow and dense in content. I especially love his appreciation for the beauty of Plato. I was often moved when reading him back in school and that element of his genius seems to be often overlooked. Furthermore, this series really reminded me how relevant Plato is for the challenges we face today, not only philosophically, or politically, but also as individuals (... well at least for me). Five stars!
#audible1
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- Alex Murphy
- 2024-12-29
Somewhat entertaining
All the "Ums" and "Okays" were distracting but other than that, he is a decent narrator. In lecture 11 he makes a statement where he lumps all religions into one as if all religions have the same beliefs. Because this is not a true statement, it makes his argument invalid. He tries to describe both sides of an opposing view but it sometimes becomes more a matter of semantics than two different views on the same subject. Overall it was interesting but keep in mind that it is the narrators interpetation.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2018-11-14
Thank you, Professor Sugrue.
I really enjoyed this. The delivery, wit, passion, humour, intelligence, and the thoughtful care Professor Sugrue gives to the dialogues does them a great deal more than justice.
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- Andrew
- 2022-05-16
Sensational Account and Overview
What a sheer delight it has been listening to Professor Sugrue. He is so involved in the subject matter - heart, mind and soul. His rapid, expressive delivery is worthy of a stage production; his ability to bring to life and infuse with meaning noble people from the past; his clear understanding of and belief in his subject matter, all combine to sweep you away and into the theatre of ancient Athens. Except it was no theatre - this was real life and these matters mattered! Lecture thirteen on Phaedrus - Hymn to love, left me weeping. Hesitating to buy. Hesitate no more.
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- Mingmar
- 2023-11-12
excellent summary of the dialogues
The author's passion and enthusiasm for the dialogues and for Plato and Socrates makes it enjoyable to listen to these lectures. I found these very helpful as I had a lot of questions after reading some of the dialogues, especially questions about Socrates.
Best of luck to everyone else out there trying to know themselves and living an examined life.
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- Arash
- 2023-12-02
Brief but deep discovery of Plato
Brilian presentation of the core concepts of Plato philosophy from a scholar's point of view. Some of the interpretations of some aspects of dialouges could be arguable, nevertheless, this is what you expect to hear from a scholar to put forward some insights that are novel and is different from what you read in other sources
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- hekmat
- 2018-03-01
very interesting representation of plato
the lecturer was truly good interpreting platonism in a new light and made it easy to understand
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- Mark 45
- 2023-05-19
Excellent Experience
I had just read The Republic for the first time prior to this course. I recommend that you listen to this course before reading Socrates or Plato.
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- Anonymous User
- 2018-07-21
Really Great!
I jumped into this having spent a couple weeks on Plato in university & wondering about the reading order. In the end, I think this course is brilliant & the readings came together beautifully. By the time one gets to the final couple of dialogues you'll be reading Plato with more clarity & they will so much better for it. Michael Sugrue has really studied these texts & these lectures go far beyond any other free source I had found on YouTube & Khan. Highly recommended!
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- Amazon Customer
- 2024-12-27
No Timaeus?
Looking forward to hearing a different experience by the Professor in another 30 years from now. It was interesting, but Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP) is a better resource than this is.
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