The dialogues of Plato in five volumes, Vol. 2 (of 5)

A collection of Socratic dialogues that investigates virtue, knowledge, piety, justice, the soul, rhetoric, and political education through conversational enquiry. Several pieces question whether virtue can be taught and whether moral truth is recollected or learned, while others present a legal defense, a discussion of obedience to law after conviction, and an extended debate contrasting persuasive speech with genuine justice. Shorter works test definitions and the value of wealth, and two dialogues examine erotic desire and civic self-knowledge. The dialogical method repeatedly exposes assumptions, elicits precise definitions, and follows ethical and metaphysical implications across varied social settings.