This lively and accessible introduction to Plato focuses on the
philosophy and argument of his writings, drawing the listener into
Plato's way of doing philosophy, and the general themes of his thinking.
This is not an audiobook to leave the listener standing in the outer
court of introduction and background information, but leads directly
into Plato's argument. It looks at Plato as a thinker grappling with
philosophical problems in a variety of ways, rather than a philosopher
with a fully worked-out system. It includes a brief account of Plato's
life and the various interpretations that have been drawn from the
sparse remains of information. It stresses the importance of the
founding of the Academy and the conception of philosophy as a subject.
Julia Annas discusses Plato's style of writing: His use of the dialogue
form, his use of what we today call fiction, and his philosophical
transformation of myths. She also looks at his discussions of love and
philosophy, his attitude to women, and to homosexual love, explores
Plato's claim that virtue is sufficient for happiness, and touches on
his arguments for the immortality of the soul, and his ideas about the
nature of the universe.