Routledge Plato and His Contemporaries - Fourth Century Philosophy

Understand Plato's philosophical writings within their historical and intellectual context. This comprehensive study examines Plato's life, development, and the political, literary, and philosophical circumstances that shaped his work. The book addresses challenging points in Platonic criticism and explores the broader fourth-century setting in which his ideas emerged. Extensive appendices analyse the Platonic Epistles, Aristotle's engagement with Platonic theory, and the post-Aristotelian philosophical tradition that built upon these foundations. A lucid and scholarly exploration of both Plato himself and the world in which ancient philosophy flourished, this Routledge edition offers readers a grounded understanding of one of Western thought's most influential thinkers.