Plato's Charmides: An Interpretative Commentary

The Charmides is a difficult and enigmatic dialogue by Plato, considered one of his Socratic dialogues. This book provides a close text commentary, exploring themes such as character portrayal, historical context, literary features, philosophical context, and logical arguments. It also includes a new translation and is essential reading for scholars and students of Plato and ancient philosophy.

Format: Hardback
Length: 300 pages
Publication date: 17 February 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

The Charmides is a challenging and enigmatic dialogue, widely regarded as one of Plato's Socratic dialogues. This comprehensive book offers a detailed text commentary that explores various themes throughout the dialogue. These include the portrayal of Critias, Charmides, and Socrates; the historical context and underlying subtext; literary elements such as irony and foreshadowing; the philosophical backdrop, particularly its connection to traditional Socratic dialogues and its anticipation of dialogues from Plato's middle and late periods; and, most importantly, the philosophical and logical intricacies of the arguments and their dialectical role. Additionally, a new translation of the dialogue is provided in an appendix, making this work an essential resource for scholars and students of Plato and ancient philosophy. Moreover, this title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core, ensuring widespread accessibility to its content.

Weight: 662g
Dimension: 159 x 236 x 29 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781316511114
Edition number: New ed