Plato

A Civic Life

By: Carol Atack

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Paperback | 1 March 2026

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13.9 x 21.5 x 1.9

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Plato is a key figure from the beginnings of Western philosophy, yet the impact of his lived experience on his thought has rarely been explored. Plato lived in turbulent times, born during a war that led to Athens' defeat and decline. A restored democracy enabled the execution of his teacher Socrates.

Carol Atack explores how his life in Athens influenced Plato's thinking, how he developed the Socratic dialogue into a powerful philosophical tool, and how he used the institutions of Athenian society to create a compelling imaginative world. Accessibly written, this book shows how Plato made Athens the place where diverse ideas were integrated into a new way of approaching big questions about existence and the societies we create, then and now.

'Philosophy is just the beginning in Carol Atack's page-turner. From Plato’s own travels and troubles to the strange life and peculiar death of his teacher Socrates, the struggles of his city at the hands of enemies at home and abroad to the efforts of its citizens to make sense of things in an era of unending crisis, this is a gripping account of Classical Athens under siege told through the sharp eyes and shifting ideas of its most notable son.' – Josephine Quinn, author of How the World Made the West: A 4,000-Year History

About the Author

Carol Atack teaches classical Greek and ancient philosophy at the University of Cambridge. She is the author and coauthor of two books, most recently Anachronism and Antiquity.

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