PDF Euthyphro Plato Benjamin Jowett 9781091027046 Books

Product details Paperback 32 pages Publisher Independently published (March 20, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 1091027048

Euthyphro Plato Benjamin Jowett 9781091027046 Books Reviews

• This is a handy nice-sized print. Good for a quick reading.
• Of course Plato scores high - it's a great book (play) on morality
• I cannot testify to whether many believe this to be a work of lesser importance, but Euthyphro is my personal favorite work of Plato. I would suggest that it should be held with at least equal importance to the other works of Plato. First, it is a work about the essence of piety and religion. This subject is at the core of why Socrates is condemned this is the entire framework of his life's purpose. Second, dialogue has no conclusion, nor could it have a conclusion. If the "discussion" had occurred for three more days, the conclusion would be neither closer nor farther away. A conclusion presupposes an answer of fact. Socrates is "proving" a negative that self-righteousness necessarily has a presumption of knowledge. The proof of the negative is in the refutation of Euthyprho's presumption at each instance. (Neither of us know anything, but at least I admit it.) It pits the very concept of religious presumption against the concept of philosophical curiosity. The work had to end with Euthyphro not having time to continue; that's Plato's wry sense of humor, as there will never be enough time to refute each and every self-presumption of knowledge. This work is not cut-short, but is perfectly complete, as-is. Plus, we enjoyably get Plato's subtle (or maybe not) sense of humor along the way. As notably used by the later Shakespeare ("Brutus is an honorable man"), Socrates keeps insulting Euthyprhro with wry compliments along the way. This is a great work. If someone burns a flag, are others offended because the flag is inherently reverential, or is the flag reverential because we revere it? Do some revere a cross because it is inherently valuable, or is it valuable because some revere it? War and riots occur over such questions and self-righteous presuppositions. Socrates is killed again and again in every religious war. The method, premises and refutations, rather than any conclusion, make this a wonderful work, at least to me. The wisdom in this work may speak more quietly, but it is perfectly loud enough, if we are attentive enough to listen.
• "Euthyphro" is one of Plato's least important works philosophically and probably not meant as a representation of the historical Socrates, but it is still worthwhile. One should certainly read Plato's more famous works first, but those interested in him will want this, and it is a good place to begin exploring his presentation of Socrates. The fact that it is widely anthologized -- e.g., in The Trial and Death of Socrates -- makes it hard to justify a standalone, but some may be taken by the translation.
  
  The dialogue examines the important "What is piety?" question and, like many Platonic dialogues, does not have anything like a definite conclusion. Some find this aspect frustrating, and it is certainly beguiling, but those who have experience with it come to love it. Like Socrates, Plato is after all too intelligent to give hard and fast answers; in all likelihood, he knows there are not any. What he does is far more important - lead us to think for ourselves and come to our own conclusions if we can. "Euthyphro" is a good, if relatively minor, example. It also introduces what philosophers call the Euthyphro Problem; here it is "Are good things good because they are loved by the gods, or are they loved by the gods because they are good?," but it has been restated in innumerable forms. This is in some ways an unrepresentative dialogue and thus an unfortunate one to begin the book, because it seems to prove the stereotype that philosophy obsesses over inane, probably unanswerable questions of no practical use. The Euthyphro Problem seems truly asinine as given - or, in our post-postmodern world, simply irrelevant. However, we can begin to see its importance when we replace "good" and "loved by the gods" with whatever seems most pressing. Such is after all the kind of thing Plato wanted; we are not supposed to read in narrow literal terms but use him as a starting point for our path to wisdom. This is an instructive example of how Plato has been immensely influential far beyond his apparent significance.
  
  The ever-important translation issue must also be kept in mind. It goes without saying that anyone who cares about intellectual issues, especially applied ones, must know Plato, as should anyone who wants to be even basically well-read. However, this is far easier said than done for most; he is so different from what now passes for literature, to say nothing of pop culture, that he is virtually inaccessible to general readers. Yet the importance of persevering cannot be overemphasized; the payoff is well worth the effort. As nearly always in such cases, reading him becomes far easier after the initial difficulty; no attentive reader will ever think Plato easy reading, but he is utterly absorbing once we get used to his style. He has a near-poetic beauty that all agree has never even been remotely approached in philosophy, and such mesmerizing prose is rare in any genre. His dialogues are an incredible form at once intellectually and aesthetically pleasing - an inspired combination that has perhaps never been bettered; many have appropriated it, but none have matched it. All this means that picking the right translation is probably more important with Plato than any other writer. For the average reader, the more recent, the better is generally true, though older translations like Benjamin Jowett's and W. H. D. Rouse's are still very accessible. The important thing is to read Plato in some form, and those who happen on a translation that does not work for them should keep trying until their mind opens in a truly new way - and once done, it will never close again.
• I find it odd that another reviewer claims this is one of Plato's least importance works, then writes a four page review! Anyway, importance aside, if you need to read or study this for school or pleasure this is what you need. Unlike the other reviewer, most people appreciate a stand alone to avoid digging around in a large document so thank you creators of this and keep up the good work!