Plato's Dialogues Author: Plato Publisher: Chongqing Publishing House

This book is a collection of Plato's dialogues, totaling eight chapters.

The first one, "Euthyphro", is an early dialogue of Plato, which records the conversation between the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates and Euthyphro. Under Plato's record, Socrates used dialectics to question Euthyphro about his behavior of accusing his father, and described what piety is.

The second chapter, "Apology", records Socrates' personal defense during his trial. Socrates refuted the accusations that he "did not believe in the gods but established new gods". In this chapter, Plato mentioned that philosophy is to accept ignorance with peace and humility, and wisdom is nothing more than admitting this ignorance. The chapter proves Socrates' excellent debating skills.

The third, Crito, is a famous dialogue written by Plato, which describes a conversation between Socrates and his follower, Crito, a wealthy man from Athens. They discuss the principles of civic justice. The conversation takes place after Socrates's defense, where Socrates was sentenced to death for impiety, and Crito tries to convince Socrates to escape imprisonment and go into exile.

The fourth chapter, "Phaedo", describes the dialogue before Socrates drank the poison. The narrator of the Phaedo is Phaedo, a young man who was helped by Socrates and was with him when Socrates died. In the dialogue, Socrates proved from many aspects that the human soul exists. This chapter shows the world Socrates' persistence and love for the cause of philosophy.

The fifth chapter, "Protagoras", describes the debate between Socrates and Protagoras, the representative of the Sophists, as well as Hippias and Prodicus. The debate ended in a "loss for both sides". This dialogue inspires us to think about whether virtue is teachable, whether the essence of human virtue is wisdom or knowledge, and why Socrates questioned these questions.

In the sixth chapter, Socrates' dialogue with Meno's slaves in the Meno shows that we are born with all the theoretical knowledge we have. The Meno attempts to define virtue, not some specific virtues (such as justice and temperance). The goal is a universal definition that applies to all specific virtues.

The seventh chapter, Timaeus, was probably written in 360 BC. It attempts to explain the truth of the universe in the form of a dialogue between philosophers such as Socrates, Hermocrates, and Critias. It puts forward the concept of "Creator God".

In the eighth chapter, "Critias", Critias (an Athenian) says that if Athens nine thousand years ago had been governed by the city system described by Socrates, as he has heard in Egyptian mythology, he will tell the story of the ancient Athenian wars with the inhabitants of Atlantis. Critias tells the story of the conflict between Athens and Atlantis.