The Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo: Apology ; Crito ; Phaedo (Great Books in Philosophy)

Rating:
Summary: It's a great book.
Review: This reprint of Jowett's classic translation has some typos that make the text look sloppy. However, as an intro to how philosophy is done Euthyphro is surely without equal. Socrates takes the reader step by step through a moral dilemma: is Euthyphro's decision to prosecute his father for murder an impious act? Euthyphro stands as the archetypal model for how people resolve ethical questions. Socrates tears his reasoning into tatters. In the last segment of the dialogue Socrates successfully withers the age-old justifcation for morality that "It's approved of by God." The third dialogue in this collection, "Crito", is a continuation of "Euthyphro." Having shown how not to do philosophy, he proceeds to show how it should be done as he examines the question of whether a just man should flee an unjust sentence. This is mighty stuff.