The Socratic Dialogues: Late Period, Volume 2 cover art

The Socratic Dialogues: Late Period, Volume 2

The Laws

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About this listen

The Laws is the longest of Plato’s Dialogues and actually doesn’t feature Socrates at all - the principal figure taking the lead is the ‘Athenian Stranger’ who engages two older men in the discussion, Cleinias (from Crete) and Megillus (from Sparta).

The Dialogue is set in Crete, and the three men embark on a pilgrimage from Knossus to the cave of Dicte, where, legend reports, Zeus was born. The topic under examination is the making of laws appropriate for a well-ordered city: having considered this in The Republic many years earlier, Plato is now taking a less idealistic view and presenting more practical and earthbound proposals, based on law rather than the philosopher-king. It is significant that each of the participants comes from a city with a different system of government: a democracy (Athenian Stranger), a monarchy (Crete) and an oligarchy (Sparta).

The Laws is divided into 12 books. Though Socrates is not involved, it can be counted a Socratic Dialogue in terms of form and structure. The Athenian Stranger is played by Laurence Kennedy, with Hayward Morse as Cleinias and Sam Dale as Megillus. The translation is by Benjamin Jowett.

Public Domain (P)2018 Ukemi Productions Ltd Philosophy
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Plato's Laws is the very last of Plato's works as he attempts to outline, in the style of Lycurgus and Solon, the optimum laws of a new city-state. In this sense, it lacks the dialogic dynamism of previous works as he lists the various minutae of laws and punishments as he moves on from the notion of a philosopher-king to that of a Guardian Council that protects the eternal harmony of this idealised city-state. Performances are good but a few hours in there is an echo that lasts a few minutes which takes one out of the experience, but nevertheless this remains an important work for philosophers and scholars of Plato. If you are new to philosophy, however, avoid. This is not for you.

Plato's Last Work

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The Laws is definitely not Plato's best work - it's nowhere near as insightful as the Republic - but it's still very interesting. And the narration is simply amazing. The actors are truly fantastic. The translation used in this audiobook is quite old, from the 19th century, but it doesn't hinder understanding, overall.

Incredible

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Definitely duller than early dialogues, and lacks the philosophical precision of middle dialogues, but gives much more insight into social and religious, even bureacratic, attitudes of Plato "himself" and his times. Easy enough to listen to on walks, well recorded by 3 actors (Plato weirdly gives 2 of them hardly anything to say.) Though neglected, shd be essential reading/listening for students of Ancient Greece and also very helpful in situating Greece among other ancient cultures, presenting one of a line of legal and religious "constitutions".

Surprisingly good listen

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there is so much to grapple with in this philosophical masterpiece of history and is a must listen to any philosopher

a masterpiece of the mind of plato

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