A History of Greek Philosophy, Volume 4: Plato: The Man and His Dialogues: Earlier Period

A History of Greek Philosophy #4

by W.K.C. Guthrie

The fourth volume of Professor Guthrie's great history of Greek thought deals exclusively with Plato. Plato, however, so prolific a writer, so profoundly original in his thought, and so colossal an influence on the later history of philosophy, that it has not been possible to confine him to one volume. Volume IV therefore offers a general introduction to his life and writings, and covers the so-called 'early' and 'middle' periods of his philosophical development (up to and including the Republic).

Genres: Philosophy, History, Nonfiction

624 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

William Keith Chambers Guthrie was a Scottish classical scholar, best known for his History of Greek Philosophy, published in six volumes between 1962 and his death.

Reviews

[Dan DalMonte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a powerful summation of the dialogues of Plato. Guthrie goes through all of Plato's dialogues up to the Republic. We get a strong familiarity with this rationalist who located ultimate reality in an intelligible domain beyond the physical world. Plato defends the life of Socrates, who thought the health of the soul was of primary importance, even if it meant dying for philosophy. It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, because doing wrong corrupts the soul and allows non-rational elements to supersede the rational.

[Robert Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent volume discussing Plato's early and middle dialogues. It treats each dialogue individually by summarizing them and then discussing the key points. Guthrie's History of Philosophy is standard. I find it helpful in a different way than I did Giovanni Reale's series. Reale presents Plato's system, as it is interpreted through the middle and later dialogues with the "Unwritten Doctrines." Guthrie, on the other hand, shows Plato's development throughout the dialogues. This reflects the divide in scholarship (still ongoing) as to whether Plato's dialogues represent a development or is actually carefully crafted as a way of leading the student toward wisdom. Ultimately, I find the discussions in this book less helpful than Reale's and felt like he could have went into more depth in certain areas and less depth in others. But this is mostly based off of my interests. This is still a worthwhile series.