This lively and accessible introduction to Plato focuses on the philosophy and argument of his writings, drawing the reader into Plato's way of doing philosophy, and the general themes of his thinking. This is not a book to leave the reader 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.

This interpretive introduction provides unique insight into Plato's Republic. Stressing Plato's desire to stimulate philosophical thinking in his readers, Julia Annas here demonstrates the coherence of his main moral argument on the nature of justice, and expounds related concepts of education, human motivation, knowledge and understanding. In a clear systematic fashion, this book shows that modern moral philosophy still has much to learn from Plato's attempt to move the focus from questions of what acts the just person ought to perform to the more profound questions of what sort of person the just person ought to be.

从《会饮篇》中狄欧提玛关于哲学是一种生活方式的教诲，到《理想国》结尾处灵魂们选择各自生活方式的神话，再到《费德罗篇》中苏格拉底对美的生活的宣扬和祈求，柏拉图确立了哲学是一种生活方式的主题，而且是一种以美为本质的生活方式，它是通过灵魂对作为最高实在和智慧“美本身”的回忆和追求实现的。作者通过对柏拉图形而上学的重新考察，以寻求在字（表）面的对立中更内心的东西。

我们大都只是知道柏拉图的精神恋爱，知道柏拉图的无性恋爱，却很少知道别的。比方说：柏拉图的灵魂论，柏拉图的认知论，柏拉图的辩证论，柏拉图的乌托邦，柏拉图的美学论等。本书用最易懂的语言，用最轻松的语气，让你认识一个全面而真实的柏拉图。让柏拉图的智慧，穿越历史，穿越时空，穿越国界，与我们一起前行。

《政治哲学的悖论:苏格拉底的哲学审判》探讨柏拉图对哲学的理解。引导《政治哲学的悖论:苏格拉底的哲学审判》的前提在于，在柏拉图对哲学本性的思考之中，有很重要的一部分，显露于一系列的对话之中，其中自然包括一个对苏格拉底的哲学审判。这种哲学探求有诸多独特而又引人入胜的特征。它发端于雅典对苏格拉底公开审判的同时，它关注的焦点是哲学与政治共同体之间的关系问题。

This third edition of 'The Trial and Death of Socrates' presents G. M. A. Grube's distinguished translations, as revised by John Cooper for 'Plato, Complete Works'. A number of new or expanded footnotes are also included along with a Select Bibliography. John M. Cooper is Stuart Professor of Philosophy, Princeton University.