Preliminary Bibliography
Aristophanes’ CLOUDS
Neumann, Harry. “Socrates in Plato and Aristophanes.” American Journal of Philology 90
(1969), 201-214.
Nichols, Mary P. Socrates and the Political Community: An Ancient Debate. Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1987. Contains a lengthy discussion of the Clouds.
Nussbaum, Martha. “Aristophanes and Socrates on Learning Practical Wisdom” in Socrates:
Critical Assessments. Vol. 1. Ed. William J. Prior. New York: Routledge, 1996.
Strauss, Leo. “The Problem of Socrates: Five Lectures” The Rebirth of Classical Political
Rationalism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985), full version in Interpretation.
Strauss, Leo. Socrates and Aristophanes (New York: Basic Books, 1964)
West, Thomas G. and Grace Starry. Four Texts on Socrates. Includes a helpful—very
spirited—bibliography.
Zuckert, Michael. “Rationalism and Political Responsibility: Just Speech and Just Deed in the
Clouds and the Apology of Socrates.” Polity 17 (1984), 271-297.
THEAETETUS
Benardete, Seth. Essay on Tht. with his translation in The Being of the Beautiful.
Burnyeat, Miles. “Introduction” in Hackett Theaetetus, 1-248. Includes a very extensive
bibliography.
Koyre, Alexandre. Discovering Plato. Translated by Leonora Cohen Rosenfield. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1945. The third chapter of this short book is on the
Theaetetus.
Hemmenway, Scott R. “Philosophical Apology in the Theaetetus.” Interpretation, Spring 1990,
Vol. 17, No. 3: 325-346.
Stern, Paul. “The Philosophic Importance of Political Life: ON the ‘Digression’ in Plato’s
Theaetetus.” American Political Science Review, June 2002, 96 (2): 275-289.
Bolotin, David. “The Theaetetus and the Possibility of False Opinion.” Interpretation 15 (May
and September): 179-93.
Bostock, David. Plato’s “Theaetetus.” Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988.
Roochnik, David. “Self-Recognition in Plato’s Theaetetus.” Ancient Philosophy…
EUTHYPHRO
Strauss, Leo. “On the Euthyphro.” In The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
Saxonhouse, Arlene. “The Philosophy of the Particular and the Universality of the City:
Socrates’ Education of Euthyphro.” Political Theory 16 (May 1988): 281-99.
Blits, Jan H. “The Holy and the Human: An Interpretation of Plato’s Euthyphro.” Apeiron 14
(1980): 19-40.
CRATYLUS
Annas, Julia. “Knowledge and Language: The Theaetetus and the Cratylus.” In Language and
Logos: Studies Presented to G. E. L. Owen. Ed. Malcolm Scholfield and Martha Craven
Nussbaum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.
Barney, Rachel. Names and Nature in Plato’s Cratylus. New York and London: Routledge, 2001.
Baxter, Timothy M. S. The Cratylus: Plato’s Critique of Naming. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1992.
Benardete, Seth. “Physics and Tragedy: On Plato’s Cratylus.” Ancient Philosophy 1 (1980-81).
MacKenzie, Mary Margaret. “Putting the Cratylus in its Place.” Classical Quarterly 36 (1986):
124-50.
Sallis, John. Being and Logos. Has a long section on the Cratylus.
Sedley, David. Plato’s Cratylus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Weingartner, Rudolph H. The Unity of the Platonic Dialogue: The Cratylus, the Protagoras, the
Parmenides. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1973.
SOPHIST
Dorter, Kenneth. Plato’s Eleatic Dialogues: Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman.
Heidegger, Martin. Plato’s Sophist. Trans. Richard Rojcewicz and Andre Schuwer.
Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1997.
Rosen, Stanley. Plato’s Sophist: The Drama of Original and Image. New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1983.
Sallis, John. Being and Logos: The Way of the Platonic Dialogue.
Zuckert, Catherine H. “Who’s a Philosopher? Who’s a Sophist? The Stranger v. Socrates.”
The Review of Metaphysics 54 (Sept. 2000).
STATESMAN
Benardete, Seth. Essay on the Statesman from his The Being of the Beautiful.
Benardete, Seth. “Eidos and Diairesis in Plato’s Statesman.” Philologus 107 (1963): 193-226.
Griswold, Charles, Jr. “Politike Episteme in Plato’s Statesman.” In Essays in Ancient Greek
Philosophy III, ed. John P. Anton and Anthony Preus. Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1989.
Griswold, Charles, Jr. “Politike Episteme in Plato’s Statesman.” In Essays in Ancient Greek
Philosophy III, ed. John P. Anton and Anthony Preus. Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1989.
Rosen, Stanley. Plato’s Statesman: The Web of Politics. Densely written; handy annotations to
short bibliography, otherwise sparse in its references.
Rosen, Stanley. “Plato’s Myth of the Reversed Cosmos.” In The Quarrel Between Philosophy and
Poetry: Studies in Ancient Thought. New York: Routledge, 1993.
Stern, Paul. “The Rule of Wisdom and the Rule of Law in Plato’s Statesman.” American
Poltiical Science Review 91 (June 1997): 264-76.
Griswold, Charles, Jr. “Politike Episteme in Plato’s Statesman.” In Essays in Ancient Greek
Philosophy III, ed. John P. Anton and Anthony Preus. Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1989.
Strauss, Leo. “Plato” in History of Political Philosophy.
APOLOGY
Brann, Eva. “The Offense of Socrates: A Re-Reading of Plato’s Apology.” Interpretation 7
(1978): 1-21.
Brickhouse, Thomas C. and Nicholas D. Smith. Socrates on Trial. Includes a most fine
bibliography, with only a few important omissions.
Mill, John Stuart. Trans. Four Dialogues of Plato, including the Apology of Socrates. Edited, with
and Introductory Essay by Ruth Borchardt. London: Watts & co., 1946.
Reeve, C. D. C. Socrates in the Apology. Hackett.
Roochnik, David L. “Apoogy 40c4-41e7: Is Death Really a Gain?” Classical Journal 80 (1985).
West, Thomas G. Plato’s Apology of Socrates: An Interpretation, with a New Translation. Ithaca:
Cornell University Press, 1980?.
CRITO
Bostock, David. “The Interpretation of Plato's Crito.” Phronesis. 35:1 (1990). Pp. 1-20.
Bostock gives a useful synopsis of various readings of Crito.
Congleton, Ann. “Two Kinds of Lawlessness in Plato’s Crito.” Political Theory 2:4 (1974).
Pp. 432-46. In the analytic tradition.
Euben, Peter J. “Philosophy and Politics in Plato’s Crito. Political Theory May 78(6); pp. 149172.
Kraut, Richard. Socrates and the State. Princeton: Princeton U. P. 1984. Kraut is a prominent
and partisan analytic reader of ancient philosophy; the bibliography here is very
good. Terence Irwin and Clifford Orwin have both written critical reviews of the
book.
Martin, Rex. “Socrates on Disobedience to Law.” Review of Metaphysics 24 (1979). Pp. 21-38.
Martin offers a legal absolutist reading of the Crito; it prompted Kraut’s civil
disobedience argument. This article is very frequently cited.
Payne, Thomas. “Crito as Mythological Mime.” Interpretation 11 (1983). Pp. 1-23. A Jacob
Klein-type approach.
Quandt, Kenneth. “Socratic Consolation: Rhetoric and Philosophy in Plato’s Crito.”
Philosophy and Rhetoric 15:4 (1982). Pp. 238-56. The notes to this article cite some
older readings of the dialogue by Adam and Fox, and also present some good
arguments against some of the other readings.
Strauss, Leo. “On Plato’s Apology of Socrates and Crito.” Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Ed. and intro. Pangle, Thomas L. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1983.
Vlastos, Gregory. “Socrates on Political Obedience and Disobedience.” Yale Review 63
(1974). Pp. 517-34. In this article, if I’m not mistaken, Vlastos excises lines from the
Crito because they’re offensive to our sensibilities.
Weiss, Roslyn. Socrates Dissatisfied: An Analysis of Plato’s Crito. New York: Oxford U. P.
1998.
Woozley, A. D. Law and Obedience: The Arguments of Plato's Crito. Chapel Hill: University of
North Carolina P. 1979. I understand that Woozley fits into the Brickhouse and
Smith line, very well regarded in the analytic school. This book is cited everywhere.
PHAEDO
Ahrensdorf, Peter. The Death of Socrates and the Life of Philosophy: An Interpretation of Plato’s
Phaedo.
Bostock, David. Plato’s Phaedo. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986.
Burger, Ronna. The Phaedo: A Platonic Labyrinth.
Cropsey, Joseph. “The Dramatic End of Plato’s Socrates.” Interpretation 14 (1986): 155-75.
Dorter, Kenneth. Plato’s Phaedo: An Interpretation.
Gadamer, Hans-Georg. Dialogue and Dialectic. Chapter two is a discussion of the Phaedo.
Ranasinghe, Nalin. The Soul of Socrates. Chapter three of this charmingly idiosyncratic book is
on the Phaedo.
Rosen, Stanley. The Question of Being: A Reversal of Heidegger. The second chapter, “Socrates’
Hypothesis,” is an extended interpretation of the Phaedo. It presents an argument
explaining the relation between the Ideas and philosophy as a way of life.
Stern, Paul. Socratic Rationalism and Political Philosophy: An Interpretation of Plato’s Phaedo.
GENERAL
Benardete, Seth. The Argument of the Action. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Brandwood, L. A Word Index to Plato. Leeds: W. S. Maney and Son, 1976.
Bruell, Christopher. On the Socratic Education. There are relevant chapters on Euthyphro,
Apology, and the Crito. Bruell says they aren’t to be read out of order; I don’t know
what to make of the injunction.
Cornford, Francis M. Plato’s Theory of Knowledge: The Theaetetus and the Sophist of Plato translated
with a running commentary. London: Routledge and Keegan Paul, 1935.
Cropsey, Joseph. Plato’s World: Man’s Place in the Cosmos. Covers all of the dialogues treated in
this course except for the Cratylus, which omission seems strange.
Dorter, Kenneth. Form and Good in Plato’s Eleatic Dialogues. Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1994.
Friedlander, Paul. Plato: An Introduction. Vol. III, ch. xxi is on the Phaedo; ch. xxiii is on the
Theaetetus; chs. xxvi and xxvii are on the Sophist and Statesman.
Gadamer, Hans Georg. The Beginning of Philosophy. Trans. Rod Coltman. New York:
Continuum, 1998. Includes a long discussion of the Phaedo and an argument on the
connection between Theaetetus and Sophist.
Griswold, Charles L. Platonic Writings/Platonic Readings. Contains several critiques of
prominent “schools” of interpretations along with responses from suitable
spokespersons, including an exchange between Clifford Orwin and Kraut on the
latter’s interpretation of the Crito (pp. 171-82). Excellent bibliography.
Gross, Barry. Ed. The Great Thinkers on Plato. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1968.Grote,
George. Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, Vol. 1. London: Murray. 1888 rpt.
New York: Burt Franklin. 1973.
Howland, Jacob. The Paradox of Poltical Philosophy.
Kahn, Charles H. Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans: A Brief History. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2001.
A bit of a stretch, perhaps, but maybe useful for the Phaedo.
Klein, Jacob. Plato’s Trilogy.
Kramer, Hans Joachim. Plato and the Foundations of Metaphysics: A Work on the Theory of the
Principles and Unwritten Doctrines of Plato with a Collection of the Fundamental Documents.
Sounds ambitious… In chapter seven, there is a discussion of how the Tubingen
school accounts for some of the dialogues of concern for this course (Phaedo, Sophist,
Statesman). This volume also collects several of the ancient reports of ancient
documents and what are judged to be references to these doctrines in the dialogues
themselves.
Lachterman, David R. “Klein, Jacob, Plato’s Trilogy: Theaetetus, The Sophist, and The Statesman.”
Nous 13 (1979): 106-12.
Sallis, John. Being and Logos. The first chapter is on the Apology and contains a discussion of
the Phaedo. Chapter four is a lengthy treatment of the Cratylus (183-311). Chapter
six is on the Sophist (456-532).
Schleiermacher, Friedrich. Introductions to the Dialogues of Plato.
Sayre, Kenneth M. Plato’s Analytic Method. (Chicago and London: University of Chicago
Press, 1969) and Plato’s Late Ontology (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983).
Vander Waerdt, Paul A. The Socratic Movement. This book collects essays on assorted
Socratics by modern scholars of assorted stripes. Many of the pieces are very
interesting on their own; only one of them bears particularly on the course: Vander
Waerdt’s on Socrates in the Clouds (48-86).
Vlastos, Gregory. Platonic Studies I. 2d edition. Contains chapters on the Phaedo (ch. 4) and
Sophist (ch. 11).
Vlastos, Gregory. Ed. Plato Metaphysics and Epistemology: A Collection of Critical Essays (1971).
Several of the dialogues with which we are concerned, conspicuously the Sophist and
Phaedo but also Statesman and Theaetetus, are treated by a variety of scholars, all fitting
broadly within the mainstream of late-twentieth century Anglo-American
scholarship.