Essential Thinkers Plato Selections From Protagoras Republic Phaedrus Gorgias Author:Plato Plato, born in 427 BCE, more or less invented philosophy as we know it. This selection from some of his greatest works includes extracts from the Republic, Protagoras, Phaedrus and Gorgias. In the Republic Plato begins with the question, "What is Justice?" but the answer soon broadens out into an investigation of what is real and how we can know... more » it, so defining the three main areas of philosophy-ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology-for the next 2000 years or more.« less