Socrates in 90 Minutes Audiobook By Paul Strathern cover art

Socrates in 90 Minutes

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Socrates in 90 Minutes

By: Paul Strathern
Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $5.42

Buy for $5.42

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Just a century after it had begun, philosophy entered its greatest age with the appearance of Socrates, who spent so much of his time talking about philosophy on the streets of Athens that he never got around to writing anything down. His method of aggressive questioning, called dialectic, was the forerunner of logic; he used it to cut through the twaddle of his adversaries and arrive at the truth. Rather than questioning the world, he believed, we would be better off questioning ourselves. Socrates placed philosophy on the sound basis of reason. He saw the world as not accessible to our senses, only to thought. Finally, charged with impiety and the corruption of youth, he was tried and sentenced to death, and ended his life by drinking the judicial hemlock.

In Socrates in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of Socrates' life and ideas, and explains their influence on man's struggle to understand his existence in the world. The book also includes selections from Socrates' work, a brief list of suggested readings for those who wish to delve deeper, and chronologies that place Socrates within his own age and in the broader scheme of philosophy.

©1997 Paul Strathern (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks
Greek & Roman Philosophy Thought-Provoking
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"Well-written, clear, and informed, they have a breezy wit about them. I find them hard to stop reading." (The New York Times)

What listeners say about Socrates in 90 Minutes

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    637
  • 4 Stars
    250
  • 3 Stars
    105
  • 2 Stars
    25
  • 1 Stars
    11
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    620
  • 4 Stars
    161
  • 3 Stars
    57
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    523
  • 4 Stars
    206
  • 3 Stars
    84
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    11

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent series

Engaging if your interested in the subject, expands into historical context and both predecessors and contemporaries. What’s true for this “in 90 min” is true of the series. For anyone home schooling, or for students working on a report this is 90 min well spent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

CLIFF NOTES!!!

For me, I just wanted to learn a little and this does just that. Since these are included with my membership, I have listened to a lot of them. It is a very easy way to learn a little without going into an entire college course or textbook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Building Knowledge

I admittedly know very little of this subject, hence my interest in a 90 min introduction. So I am taking all the contained information as fact, which it may be, but I wish time had been spent on the Author and why they should be considered an expert on the subject.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great

awesome crash course in history. Every undergrade class on the subject combined into 90 minutes

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Review

We’ll written & read - highly recommended for those interested in stingy of thought and in philosophy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

It's History, How may one not love it?

It was too short. I would have preferred it to be much much longer. But it was enough.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Overview.

If you are looking for a decent, overview of Socrates this is pretty good. I expected a factu account. The facts are interspersed with the author’s opinions about various periods and philosophical and religious viewpoints.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Learn more about Socrates!

Thought Socrates didn’t write anything, yet there is so much to learn from him. Thank to the author and narrator! I’m looking forward to listening to more….

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Superficial, more snarky than humorous.

A very superficial overview, not really a scholarly or even particularly interesting piece. Also pretty culturally inept. He makes a big point about how the Greeks were “the very first humans” to consider philosophy (circa 500 BC) and then throws in a single line about how they were probably influenced by the Indian concept of maya...completely ignoring how they could be influenced by a philosophical tradition several hundreds of years older and still be “the very first” philosophers on earth. Very parochial. Does have a few interesting anecdotes about Socrates, but overall a waste of time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Extraordinary summary

I had my 14 year old son listen to it with me. He was intrigued and didn't lose much interest because the narration was fluid and interesting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!