Michael C. Stokes – författare

Plato’s Apology (Defence) of Socrates is a masterpiece of ancient rhetoric which philosophically illustrates in practice and illuminates in principle Plato’s version of Socrates’ dialectical method. This edition aims not merely to present and combine valuable research but to develop it further. The editor is more sceptical than some recent researchers of the historical accuracy of Plato’s version of Socrates’ defence, and offers an account of the Apology as a work of Plato’s own art. [Greek text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.]

Plato's Crito examines a single moral decision, whether Socrates ought to escape from his death-cell. Stokes' book discusses Socrates' arguments against Crito's offer of escape. It construes Socrates' questions as genuine questions, which clarify and undermine Crito's positions. Stokes's approach avoids the 'documentary fallacy'; it shows how Plato catered for both the novice and the experienced reader of his published works. This books offers a fresh account of Socrates' whole strategy. It demonstrates both the shakiness of Socrates' persuasion of the un-philosophical Crito to engage in dialectic, and the coherence of his substantive confutation. Plato's reasoning emerges from Stokes' study with more credit than many have given it.

This book, first published in 1992, introduces some of Socrates’ problems and some of the problems about him. It seeks at the same time to advance new views, arguments and information on Socrates’ mission, techniques, ethics and later reception. From civil disobedience to ethics, this collection provides stimulating discussions of Socrates’ life, thought and historical significance.