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Author: Atack, Carol

European history

Published on 21 October 2024 by REAKTION BOOKS in the United Kingdom as part of ‘the Great Lives of the Ancient World’ series.

Hardback | 240 pages
146 x 229 x 29 | 434g

Plato is a key figure from the beginnings of Western philosophy, yet the impact of his lived experience on his thought has rarely been explored. Plato lived in turbulent times, born during a war that led to Athens’ defeat and decline. A restored democracy enabled the execution of his teacher Socrates.

Carol Atack explores how his life in Athens influenced Plato’s thinking, how he developed the Socratic dialogue into a powerful philosophical tool, and how he used the institutions of Athenian society to create a compelling imaginative world. Accessibly written, this book shows how Plato made Athens the place where diverse ideas were integrated into a new way of approaching big questions about existence and the societies we create, then and now.