The Cambridge Companion to Socrates (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy)

The Cambridge Companion to Socrates is the best introduction to Socrates I have ever read. The chapters of the book are linked together well and have a clear progression. The first chapter begins with the so-called "Socratic problem," which involves trying to find the real Socrates in the historical literature, and the final chapter ends the book with Socrates' influence on the Greek philosophy that came after him.My favorite chapter was Terry Penner's "Socratic Ethics and the Socratic Psychology of Action." It's a fine example of the quality of work in the book. It details Socrate' account of human behavior and shows that issues related to living the good life are integrally tied to what it means to be a human being, according to Socrates.

I’ve never given a two star review, much less one star. I would probably give a book on Relativity by a bird dog 2 stars…. And in fairness, I intentionally skipped through sections of the book to correspond to my readings of Plato, starting with Ion, Menon and then the Symposium. Chapter 7, “Why Eros?” By Suzanne Obdrzalek, Corresponds to the Symposium. It’s unbelievable. The chapter manages to not mention that the Symposium is 1) clearly denoted as hearsay by Plato and 2) its most dramatic component is the entry of the drunken Alcibiades. (Alcibiades speech is intensely degrading and pathetic…. So much so, that you have the impression the drunkard is actually being candid about what’s “Eros” for him…). Suzanne also talks about Plato’s views on Eros in the Symposium; however the minor fly in the ointment is Plato does not speak and was not there…. Honestly if the editor allows this type of content into his collection, he and the work is unreliable. Given this carries the “Cambridge” brand, it literally shakes my understanding of the credibility of much of “modern philosophic” commentary…. Maybe the sophist won. I’ll certainly be looking for thoughtful source of commentary.