古代ギリシアの哲学者としてその名前こそ有名なソクラテス（紀元前469-399年）ですが、実は何の著述も行っていません。私たちが知るソクラテスの思想は、弟子のプラトンをはじめとする他の人たちが書いたものを通して伝えられているものです。本書では歴史的に伝わるソクラテスと、特にプラトンが描いたソクラテス像の関係を検証し、西洋哲学の発展に貢献したその哲学の意義を明らかにしていきます。改訂新版には19－20世紀哲学における受容と影響についての分析を追加しています。(cf. Plato, #079)
    

• Introduces the life and philosophy of Socrates, whose work has played a central role in shaping Western philosophical thinking for centuries
• Includes a new chapter analysing the reception and influence of Socrates in 19th and 20th century philosophical thought
• New edition includes an extensively updated bibliography
• Examines what we can deduce about Socrates from the writings of his contemporaries (as he himself left none)
• Traces the reception and influence of his thought to the modern day

   
Socrates has a unique position in the history of philosophy; it is no exaggeration to say that had it not been for his influence on Plato, the whole development of Western philosophy might have been unimaginably different. Yet Socrates wrote nothing himself, and our knowledge of him is derived primarily from the engaging and infuriating figure who appears in Plato's dialogues. 
  
In this Very Short Introduction, Christopher Taylor explores the life of Socrates and his philosophical activity, before looking to the responses his philosophical doctrines have evoked in the centuries since his betrayal and execution at fellow Athenian hands. Examining the relationship between the historical Socrates and the Platonic character, Taylor considers the complex question of how far it is possible to distinguish the philosopher's own thought from that of those others who wrote about him, and explores the enduring image of Socrates as the ideal exemplar of the philosophic life - a thinker whose moral and intellectual integrity permeated every detail of his life. This new edition also includes a new chapter analysing the reception and influence of Socrates in 19th and 20th century philosophical thought.