Biblio Library

“Plato was not a Platonist! I would like to show . . . that anyone who reads the dialogues of Plato without bias or an ax to grind will find a humorous, witty, pleasant friend; and ...

Perception, memory, truth, and knowledge all play major roles in this dialogue. What is remarkable about Plato’s treatment of those ideas is how contemporary are both the questions ...

The dramatic nature of Plato’s dialogues is delightfully evident in the "Symposium." The marriage between character and thought bursts forth as the guests gather at Agathon’s house ...

The "Republic" poses questions that endure: What is justice? What form of community fosters the best possible life for human beings? What is the nature and destiny of the soul? Wha ...

Socrates is in prison, sentenced to die when the sun sets. In this final conversation, he asks what will become of him once he drinks the poison prescribed for his execution. Socra ...

Plato’s dialogues frequently cover several topics and show their connection to each other. The "Phaedrus" is a model of that skill because of its seamless progression from examples ...

A dialogue between Socrates and Meno probes the subject of ethics. Can goodness be taught? If it can, then we should be able to find teachers capable of instructing others about wh ...

Laches, a general in the Athenian army, saw Socrates fight bravely in the battle of Delium. When he and Nicias, another general, are asked to explain the idea of courage, they are ...

Socrates questions Ion, an actor who just won a major prize, about his ability to interpret the epic poetry of Homer. How does an actor, a poet, or any other artist create? Is it b ...

Gorgias of Leontini, a famous teacher of rhetoric, has come to Athens to recruit students, promising to teach them how to become leaders in politics and business. A group has gathe ...

In Euthyphro, Socrates is on his way to the court where he must defend himself against serious charges brought by religious and political authorities. On the way, he meets Euthyphr ...

After Socrates is sentenced to death by the Athenian court, his friend Crito comes to the prison to help him escape and go to another country. Socrates responds by saying that he w ...

Socrates is on trial for his life. He is charged with impiety and corrupting young people. He presents his own defense, explaining why he has devoted his life to challenging the mo ...

"The Birth of Tragedy" stands alongside Aristotle’s "Poetics" as essential works for all who seek to understand poetry and its relationship to human life. In this, his first book, ...

John Stuart Mill’s "On Liberty" was first published in 1859. In the 21st century this text confirms Socrates’ claim that “it is only the life of true philosophy that scorns the lif ...

These works articulate the most fundamental principles of Kant’s ethical and political world-view. “What is Enlightenment?” (1784) and "Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of ...

David Hume’s Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion had not yet been published when he died in 1776. Even though the manuscript was mostly written during the 1750s, it did not appea ...

René Descartes is often described as the first modern philosopher, but much of the content of his "Meditations on First Philosophy" can be found in the medieval period that had alr ...

Berkeley uses the Socratic mode of inquiry in "Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous" to question fundamental beliefs about knowledge and reality. These dialogues are between ...

The basic principles that Bergson articulates, especially his way of thinking about reality as a dynamic process and his view of human beings as creative and evolving, should be he ...

Aristotle's Poetics is best known for its definition and analysis of tragedy and comedy, but it also applies to truth and beauty as they are manifested in the other arts. In our ag ...

Art is the creative manifestation of essences. In order to understand the relation between art and reality, we need a philosophical guide. The best way to comprehend how the creati ...

John Stuart Millin klassinen tutkielma selvittää ihmisen ja yhteiskunnan välisen vastuun ja vapauden rajoja. Missä alkaa yhteiskunnan valta? Kuinka suuren osan elämästään yksilön o ...

Kärsimys on aina läsnä ihmisen elämässä, milloin lähempänä, milloin kauempana. Osa tästä kärsimyksestä johtuu luonnollisista syistä, kuten sairauksista, onnettomuuksista ja vanhene ...

Psykologia erkaantui filosofiasta omaksi tieteekseen vasta joitakin aikoja takaperin. Toisaalta psykologiaa on harjoitettu myös filosofian piirissä. Käsilläolevassa työssä Jokela t ...