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Plato's Allegory of the Cave is what many believe to be the foundation of Western Philosophy. It addresses what is visible and invisible, seen and observed versus intuited and imagined, and what is public versus private and just versus unjust. It also concerns the meaning and importance of education, the state of the soul, the conflict between truth and beauty, animal urges versus higher aspirations, knowledge versus ignorance, and on and on.

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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? What form of education provides the best leaders for a good republic? What are the various forms of poetry and the other arts, and which ones should be fostered and which ones should be discouraged? How does knowing differ from believing?

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The Enchiridion is the famous manual of ethical advice given in the second century by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus. Born to a Greek slave, Epictetus grew up in the environment of the Roman Empire and, having been released from bonds of slavery, became a stoic in the tradition of its originators, Zeno (third Century BCE) and Seneca (first century CE).

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  • The Republic

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This highly regarded volume features a modern translation of all ten books of The Republic. Translated by Raymond Larson. The Republic is an explosion of thought; a ten-book brainstorm of one of the greatest minds of all-time.

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Meditations of Marcus Aurelius audiobook cover art

  • Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

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Meditations is former U.S. President Bill Clinton's favorite book. This audio consists of a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161-180 AD, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy.

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On the Shortness of Life audiobook cover art

  • On the Shortness of Life

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The majority of mortals, Paulinus, complain bitterly of the spitefulness of Nature, because we are born for a brief span of life, because even this space that has been granted to us rushes by so speedily and so swiftly that all save a very few find life at an end just when they are getting ready to live. Nor is it merely the common herd and the unthinking crowd that bemoan what is, as men deem it, an universal ill; the same feeling has called forth complaint also from men who were famous.

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Publisher's Summary

This collection brings together three of Plato's most enduring classics: the "Symposium", the "Apology", and the famous "Allegory of the Cave" from the Republic. The "Symposium", a dialogue on the nature and purpose of love centered around the ideals of beauty and goodness, is arguably the deepest inquiry of its kind in Western philosophy. The "Apology", Plato's account of the speech given by Socrates at his trial in 399 BC, constitutes an essential defense of Socrates' life and philosophy. Finally, the "Allegory of the Cave", written as a fictional dialogue between Socrates and Plato's brother, Glaucon, is a profound commentary on the human understanding of reality. This edition is the translation by Benjamin Jowett.
Public Domain (P)2011 Tantor

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Audible.com Reviews
Audible.co.uk reviews
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • David
  • Halifax, NS, Canada
  • 06-17-11

Reader kills it

Good choice of extracts if you want to learn the basics of Plato. It's the Benjamin Jowett translation, which is a bit stodgy but fine, and features lengthy introductions.

Unfortunately the reader kills the text. He's perfectly clear, but he recites everything in the same emotionless monotone. He doesn't give different voices to the characters in the Symposium, so it's hard to tell who's talking. He keeps giving words the wrong intonations, as if he's reading the text for the first time. He pronounces 'rhetoric' wrong (which is annoying because Plato says it a lot). It's very clear that the reader doesn't understand or care about what he's reading - indeed it sounds like he's not even listening to himself speak.

I fought through the whole thing, but I won't be buying any more books by this reader.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

absorbing

Would you listen to Symposium, the Apology, and the Allegory of the Cave again? Why?

yes - especially the symposium. takes multiple listens.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

decription of Socrates as a soldier in the SYmposium

What does Jonathan Cowley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The even pacing foregrounds the ideas

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • p.
  • fountain valley, CA, United States
  • 07-24-12

Excellent

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This audio book thouroughly enhances the scenes created for us by Plato!

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The Symposium was definitely the best. It was quite compelling to hear the dialogue read.

Which character – as performed by Jonathan Cowley – was your favorite?

They were all read equally well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh when the discussion of drinking was being performed in the Symposium.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Frederick
  • 01-04-18

Not a good reader

The reader has a good voice but someone should correct his pronounciation. Words like agora and rhetoric he gets so wrong and he does not really know how to dramatise reported Or direct speech. Did he have any direction ? Sadly these faults spoilt the enjoyment of this important work