Understanding Plato

By David J. Melling

Book Overview

This incisive book fills the longstanding need for a sound, reliable, and balanced guide to the whole of Plato's philosophical work. Melling describes the different stages in Plato's philosophical development, introduces his different methods and styles of philosophy, and explains why the debates were important then and what sense we can make of them now. Against the background of the ancient Greek world, Melling illuminates Plato the man, his writings, and, above all, why his ideas should be considered important two thousand years after his death.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192191292
• ISBN13: 9780192191298
• Release Date: December 1987
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A great outline of the main themes of Plato's philosophy

I found Melling's book extremely helful. It's been a while since I've read many of the dialogues, so I was looking for something to refresh my memory. This is the perfect choice for anyone who is looking to comprehend or brush up on the main ideas of Plato's writings. I especially found Melling's explanation of the theory of forms helpful. A great book.

An enjoyable and informative introduction to Plato

Although Oxford University Press does publish books for the specialist scholar, it also seems to have an aggressive publishing program aimed at making knowledge accessible to the student and general reader. In its "Opus" series, OUP seeks to provide "concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects." Melling's "Understanding Plato" is a welcome addition to the Opus series, and it fulfills the objective of the series admirably. Because I devoted most of my time and energy developing my law practice for two decades, I simply was not able to read much philosophy. Recently, however, I have been able to find the time for philosophy, and I read "Understanding Plato" before re-reading Plato's dialogues. Melling's short book was the perfect re-introduction to Plato. I congratulate Melling and OUP for a job well done.