A highly ambitious and lucid history of ideas from the very earliest times to the present day.

Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, Republic is an enquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. This work addresses the purpose of education and the role of both women and men as 'guardians' of the people.

The Leviathan is the vast unity of the State. But the resurgence of interest in Leviathan is due less to its answers than its methods. This book intends to see politics as a science capable of the same axiomatic approach as geometry. It argues from first principles to human nature to politics.

Provides a digest of consolations for many of our psychological ills.

Sets out to examine the nature of happiness. This book argues that happiness consists in 'activity of the soul in accordance with virtue', for example with moral virtues, such as courage, generosity and justice, and intellectual virtues, such as knowledge, wisdom and insight.

The trial and condemnation of Socrates for heresy and corrupting young minds is a defining moment in the history of Classical Athens. In tracing these events through four dialogues, Plato also developed his own philosophy, based on Socrates' manifesto for a life guided by self-responsibilty.