Since antiquity the Phaedo has been considered the source of “the twin pillars of Platonism” – the theory of ideas and the immortality of the soul. Tracing the movement of the argument through the work as a whole, Burger is led to a radical rethinking of those doctrines. That movement is indicated by the structure of the dialogue, divided in two halves by a central interlude in which Socrates warns against the great danger of “misology,” loss of trust in human reason.  The discussion that follows, with that danger in mind, brings about a transformation in the understanding of knowledge, the ideas, the soul, death, and immortality. With this "second sailing," as Socrates calls it, the Platonism presented in the Phaedo emerges as precisely the target of which the dialogue is a critique.

This revised edition includes a new Preface and a reprint of Burger's essay on Plato's Euthyphro, originally published in German and English.

“This is a comprehensive study of the Phaedo, thoroughly researched, and sparkling with insights into the text.” – Paul Woodruff, University of Texas

“Burger has a wonderfully fertile mind and supports her imaginative thesis with a close reading, extremely sensitive to nuance.” – Jerome Schiller, The Journal of the History of Philosophy 1986

"On Plato's Euthyphro" presents a more thoughtful and careful analysis of the dialogue than any previous full-length commentary. -- Lewis Fallis, Interpretation 2016

Ronna Burger is the Catherine & Henry J. Gaisman Chair in the Dept. of Philosophy at Tulane University, where she has taught since 1980. She received her PhD from the New School for Social Research Graduate Faculty in 1975, with a dissertation directed by Seth Benardete.  She is the author of books on Plato’s Phaedrus and Phaedo as well as Aristotle’s Dialogue with Socrates: on the Nicomachean Ethics (Chicago, 2008).  Subjects of her numerous essays and public lectures include Maimonides and the Hebrew Bible along with studies of Plato and Aristotle.