Philebus

by Plato, Dorothea Frede (Translator)

Overview

The good life, according to Plato, consists of beauty, truth and moderation

The Philebus, as Plato's most deliberate and thorough attempt to describe the good life, may be regarded as the canonical Platonic text on the subject of the way people ought to live - a theme that runs through the majority of the other dialogues. It is one of the earliest discussions of ethics - not in the sense of discussing what goodness is, but in the more direct sense of how, as human beings with a particular nature, we can hope to live the good life.

The dialogue dismisses hedonism or the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake, as espoused by Philebus, and establishes the pursuit of knowledge as a higher goal. It also contains methodological and metaphysical passages of considerable profundity and interest.

Robin Waterfield's excellent introduction to this edition contains a detailed analysis of Plato's argument.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780872201712
Publisher:	Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
Publication date:	09/15/1993
Series:	Hackett Classics
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.66(h) x (d)

About the Author

James L. Wood is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Xavier University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Plato, Socrates, and Their Time: A Brief Chronology
A Note on the Text

Philebus

Appendix A: Plato on the Good as Pleasure or Wisdom

1. Republic 505a–505d

Appendix B: Plato on the Forms and the Good

1. Republic 475e–476d
2. Timaeus 27d–28a
3. Symposium 210e–211b
4. Parmenides 130a–135c
5. Republic 505d–509b

Appendix C: Plato on Dialectic

1. Republic 531e–534d
2. Sophist 253a–254b, 259d–e

Appendix D: Plato on Four Kinds, Elements, Divine Intellect

1. Timaeus 29d–30c, 46c–e, 47e–52d
2. Phaedo 97b–99c

Appendix E: Plato on Kinds of Pleasure, False and Impure Pleasures

1. Republic 580d–587a
2. Republic 558d–559c
3. Protagoras 351b–358a
4. Gorgias 491d–495b

Appendix F: Aristotle on Pleasure

1. Nicomachean Ethics X.2–5

Appendix G: Aristotle on Metaphysics

1. Metaphysics I.6

Appendix H: Epicurus on Pleasure

1. From Diogenes Laertius, “Letter to Menoeceus,” Lives of Eminent Philosophers, X.121–132

Appendix I: The Stoics on Physics and Metaphysics

1. From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, VII.134–156

Works Cited and Select Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

James L. Wood has devoted himself to understanding and explaining the Philebus. The result is this accomplished translation, together with plentiful explanatory notes about Plato’s language and argument, and a series of appendices containing long quotes from Plato and Aristotle on topics related to those covered in this dialogue. The translation has an engaging near-literal quality that can give surprisingly transparent glimpses into Plato’s Greek, in a way reminiscent of Allan Bloom’s Republic. A lot of people will want to have this book, both newcomers to Plato and his long-time readers.” — Nickolas Pappas, Executive Officer, Philosophy, CUNY Graduate Center

“James Wood’s translation of, and commentary on, Plato’s Philebus is a valuable resource for anyone who has the intellectual stamina to tackle one of the more difficult works in the history of Greek Philosophy. His introduction is lucid and engaging, and his translation succeeds in achieving his goal of striking ‘a balance between faithfulness and readability, with an emphasis on the former.’ His series of appendices provides companion texts, not only from Plato, but also from Aristotle, Epicurus and the Stoics. These help the reader to see the issues addressed in the Philebus—the good life, pleasure, knowledge and the metaphysical framework that holds them all together—in a broader context. In sum, Wood’s book is a fine piece of work.” — David Roochnik, Maria Stata Professor of Classical Greek Studies, Boston University

From the Publisher