Plato stands as a monumental figure in Classical Greek philosophy, renowned for his insightful dialogues and foundational contributions to Western thought. As the founder of the Academy in Athens, he established the first institution of higher learning in the Western world, significantly shaping the discourse in ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology. His literary approach, employing philosophical dialogues, probes deep questions of existence and governance, most notably in his seminal work on political philosophy. Alongside Socrates and Aristotle, Plato laid the groundwork for much of subsequent Western intellectual tradition.
English translation of Plato's dialogue of Socrates with two prominent Sophists, Euthydemus and Dionysodorus, and their conflicting philosophical views, in which Plato satirizes the logical fallacies of the Sophists. With notes, introduction, interpretive essay, and a glossary of important words.
The only Platonic dialogue that takes as its central theme the fundamental Socratic question of the good, understood as that which makes for the best or happiest life. Following the translation is an appendix of parallel passages from other Platonic dialogues as well as related material from Aristotle, the Stoics, and Epicurus.