Why am I passionate about this?
I am Associate Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Brockport. I have been teaching and writing philosophy for over 20 years. I have published articles in professional journals on a wide range of subjects, from epistemology to philosophy of religion and political philosophy. I think that philosophy, at its best, is a good conversation, in which people give reasons for their views, and listen to others give reasons for theirs. Thatās the best way for human beings to think about philosophical questions. Thatās why I love philosophical dialoguesāthey do philosophy in a way that embodies what philosophy is, at its very best.
Gordon's book list on philosophy written as engaging dialogues
Why did Gordon love this book?
The philosopher Alfred North Whitehead once said that all of Western philosophy is a footnote to Plato. That might be an exaggeration, but not by much. One of the greatest features of Platoās philosophy is that he wrote almost entirely in the form of dialogues. His writings modeled the idea that philosophy is an ongoing conversation between different points of view. They also modeled the idea that philosophy is an exchange of reasons, in pursuit of the truth. Plato wrote many great dialogues, every one of them worth reading, but the Phaedo is my favorite. In this dialogue, Plato comes out of the closet as, well, a Platonist, and whether you agree or disagree, itās a wild ride.
1 author picked Phaedo as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
A first rate translation at a reasonable price. --Michael Rohr, Rutgers University
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