Plato: A Very Short Introduction – Annas Julia (2003)

This lively and accessible introduction to Plato focuses on the philosophy and arguments of his writings, drawing readers into his way of doing philosophy and the central themes of his thought. Rather than leaving readers in the outer court of introductory background, it takes them directly into Plato’s arguments. Plato appears here as a thinker grappling with philosophical problems in various ways, not as a philosopher with a fully developed system. The book includes a brief account of his life and the different interpretations drawn from the limited surviving information. It stresses the importance of the founding of the Academy and Plato’s conception of philosophy as a discipline. Julia Annas discusses his writing style, his use of dialogue and fiction, and his philosophical transformation of myths. She also examines his discussions of love and philosophy, his attitudes towards women and homosexual love, his claim that virtue is sufficient for happiness, his arguments for the immortality of the soul, and his ideas about the nature of the universe. Part of Oxford University Press’s Very Short Introductions series, the book combines facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas and enthusiasm to make challenging subjects highly readable.