The dialogue has disappeared as a mode of writing philosophy, and philosophers who study Plato today often ignore the form in which Plato’s work appears in favor of reconstructing and analyzing arguments thought to be conveyed by the content of the dialogues. A distinguished classicist here offers an approach to understanding Plato that tries to do full justice to the form of Platonic philosophy, appreciated against the background of Greek literature and history, while also giving proper due to the important (...) philosophic content of the dialogues. The book deals in turn with Plato’s relation to and portraits of Socrates, the literary and philosophical character of the dialogues, and the modes of argumentation employed in the dialogues as well as some of their major themes. (shrink)

The progression of Epicurean doctrine and rhetoric.

Lengthy review of Long & Sedley, The Hellenistic Philosophers 2 vols.

Centering on the Greek army's attempt to win the trust of their master bowman Philoctetes, without whom they cannot win the Trojan War, Philoctetes is a morally complex and timelessly relevant meditation on ends and means, on patriotism, and on the relationship between public duty and private interest.

Four Island Utopias provides a convenient compilation of four key texts, important for the understanding of utopian thinking in the ancient world and middle ages, along with maps and an extensive introduction to Classical Utopian thought. Ideal for courses in utopian thought.