In a captivating discussion, Angie Hobbs, Fiona Leigh, and James Warren unravel Socrates' profound final days as portrayed in Plato's Crito and Phaedo. They delve into Socrates' unwavering commitment to his principles, emphasizing his decision not to escape prison. The guests explore his views on death as a liberation of the soul, and his compelling arguments for immortality, igniting a lively debate on the nature of existence. They also reflect on Socrates' calm demeanor amidst turmoil, revealing how his philosophy continues to inspire and challenge moral thought.

Fiona Leigh discusses Plato's revised theory of Forms in the Sophist

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of Plato's most striking dialogues, in which he addresses the real nature of power and freedom, and the relationship between pleasure and true self-interest. As he tests these ideas, Plato creates powerful speeches, notably from Callicles who claims that laws of nature trump man-made laws, that might is right, and that rules are made by weak people to constrain the strong in defiance of what is natural and proper. Gorgias is arguably the most personal of all of Plato's dialogues, with its hints of a simmering fury at the system in Athens that put his mentor Socrates to death, and where rhetoric held too much sway over people. WithAngie Hobbs Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of SheffieldFrisbee Sheffield University Lecturer in Classics and Fellow of Downing College, University of CambridgeAndFiona Leigh Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at University College LondonProducer: Simon Tillotson