CONTENTS: Acknowledgements Foreword General Introduction Chapter 1: Plato: A Journey into his Life Introduction 1.1. The Biography of Plato 1.2. Factors Influencing Plato’s Philosophy 1.3. The Academy in Athens 1.4. Writings of Plato: Dialogues Conclusion Chapter 2: A Review of Pleasure vs. Knowledge Leading to the Good in Plato’s Dialogues Introduction 2.1. The Protagoras on Pleasure 2.2. The Gorgias 2.3. The Phaedo 2.4. The Republic 2.5. The Laws Conclusion Chapter 3: Arriving at a Good Human Life: Knowledge vs. Pleasure in the Philebus Introduction 3.1. Discussion of the Candidates for the Good Life 3.2. Socrates’ First Response: Divine Method of Dialectical Division (of One and Many) 3.3. Socrates’ Second Response: A Compromise Solution 3.4. Socrates’ Third Response: Fourfold Ontological Classification 3.5. Application of the Fourfold Ontology 3.6. Classification of False Pleasures 3.7. Purpose of the Classification of False Pleasures 3.8. Indispensable Ingredients of the Good Human Life 3.9. Difference between False and True or Pure Pleasures 3.10. Admission of Different Kinds of Knowledges in the Human Good Conclusion Chapter 4: Realization of Good Human Life: A Critical Appreciation Introduction 4.1. Metaphysical Approach of the Philebus and its Apparent Difficulties 4.2. Plato’s Socrates’ Dreamlike Insight of the Divine: A Systematic Strategy 4.3. Candidates for the Good Human Life 4.4. Constitution of the Human Good 4.5. Questions on the Title Character of the Dialogue: A Real Difficulty 4.6. Decisive Role of Protarchus 4.7. Philosophical Clarity of the Philebus 4.8. Importance of the Dialogue Philebus in the Philosophy of Plato 4.9. Scepticism: An Inevitable Consequence of Plato’s Dialogues Conclusion General Conclusion Bibliography