Plato in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes (Audio))

Strathern, Paul

3.38

1,439 ratings by Goodreads

9780786192878: Plato in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes (Audio))

ISBN 10: 0786192879 ISBN 13: 9780786192878

Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks, 2003

In an age when philosophers had scarcely glimpsed the horizons of the mind, a boy named Aristocles decided to forgo his ambitions as a wrestler. Adopting the nickname Plato, he embarked instead on a life in philosophy. In 387 BC he founded the Academy, the world's first university, and taught his students that all we see is not reality but merely a reproduction of the true source. And in his famous Republic he described the politics of "the highest form of state." In Plato in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of Plato's life and ideas and explains their influence on man's struggle to understand his existence in the world. The book also includes selections from Plato's work, a brief list of suggested reading for those who wish to delve deeper, and chronologies that place Plato within his own age and in the broader scheme of philosophy. The 90 Minutes series includes brief but authoritative interpretations of the world's greatest thinkers, deciphering philosophical thought in an entertaining and accessible fashion and making it comprehensible and interesting to almost everyone.

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About the Author:

Paul Strathern earned a degree in philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin, and has lectured in philosophy and mathematics. The author of many nonfiction books and of articles for numerous publications, he has also written several novels and has won the Somerset Maugham Prize. He lives and writes in London.

From AudioFile:

What promises to be a brisk and entertaining foray into the life of the best-known classical philosopher fizzles into a historical drone. While the author labors to keep the subject matter palatable and entertaining, and Robert Whitfield is more than equal to the task, the text lacks what it takes to feed a thirsty ear. This is particularly true on Cassette Two, when we lose all sense of storytelling and find ourselves in a dark wood of fact reciting. It's worth spending 90 minutes reading an actual book on Plato in this case, rather than depleting your Walkman batteries. D.J.B. � AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright � AudioFile, Portland, Maine

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