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Welcome to Western Tradition

Personal blog for reviews and thoughts on books dealing with the western history, philosophy, and great books.

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bobjones1516
Aug 2, 20224 min read

Plato's Parmenides and Timaeus

Here are my thoughts on Plato’s Parmenides and Timaeus. I read the introduction to Parmenides and then decided after reading the first...

 
 
 
bobjones1516
Apr 11, 20214 min read

Thoughts on Plato's Sophist

I read the Nicolas P. White intro and dialogue. As usual, the introduction was a longer and more technical than I really wanted or...

 
 
 
bobjones1516
Feb 27, 20216 min read

Thoughts on Plato's Symposium and Phaedrus

My latest dialogue is Plato’s Symposium. I once again read the Oxford World Classics edition. I like these editions and their notes, but...

 
 
 
bobjones1516
Jan 17, 20216 min read

Thoughts on Plato's Theaetetus

My latest book is Plato’s Theaetetus, in which the question is asked, “What is knowledge?” I again read the Oxford World Classics version...

 
 
 
bobjones1516
Jan 17, 20214 min read

Thoughts on Plato's Phaedo

My latest book is the Oxford World Classics edition of Plato’s Phaedo. This is a fairly short but dense dialogue describing Socrates’...

 
 
 
bobjones1516
Oct 4, 20204 min read

Thoughts on Plato's Apology and Crito

My last two dialogues were Plato’s Apology and Crito, which I read from a collection including those and a few other works from Yale...

 
 
 
bobjones1516
Oct 4, 20203 min read

Thoughts on Aristophanes' Clouds

My latest book is Aristophanes’ Clouds, an ancient Greek comedy performed originally in 423 B.C. and thereafter in revised form. I read...

 
 
 
bobjones1516
Sep 14, 20203 min read

Thoughts on some of Plutarch's Lives

I recently completed Plutarch’s lives of Solon (Athens’ great lawgiver) and Lycurgus (Sparta’s great lawgiver), and even though my...

 
 
 
bobjones1516
Aug 15, 202014 min read

Thoughts on Plato's Republic

I have finally completed Plato’s Republic and chose Robin Waterfield’s translation for Oxford World’s Classics. I really enjoyed his...

 
 
 
bobjones1516
Jul 10, 20204 min read

Classical Thought by Terence Irwin

Classical Thought by Terence Irwin, published in 1989, is Volume 1 of A History of Western Philosophy published by Oxford. This book...

 
 
 
bobjones1516
May 23, 20204 min read

The Anglo Saxons by James Campbell

The Anglo Saxons, the most recent edition of which was published in 1991, is a dense survey by James Campbell of the history of England...

 
 
 
bobjones1516
May 16, 20203 min read

Donald Kagan's Peloponnesian War

Donald Kagan's Peloponnesian War is a summary for general readers of the Peloponnesian War. The war this book seeks to cover is long and...

 
 
 
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Image credits

The top image is Raphael's The School of Athens painted around 1510; the central figures are Plato and Aristotle.   The bottom image is Newton by printmaker William Blake from 1805.  Both are public domain images I pulled from wikimedia commons.  See individual blog posts for image credits for cover photos.

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