★ This book focuses on Socrates, a core figure of Western philosophy, and conducts an in-depth analysis of the classic Socratic Problem, interpreting the underlying causes of his tragic fate.
★ The author studies Socrates' philosophical thoughts against the historical background of the Athenian city-state, which fits the historical context and makes the interpretation more professional and reasonable.
★ This book sorts out Socrates' influence on subsequent thinkers such as Montaigne and Nietzsche, and fully presents his profound significance to Western philosophy.

Socrates (470-399 BC), the most famous ancient Greek philosopher, was sentenced to death by the Athenian assembly in 399 BC for impiety and corrupting the young men of the city. Why a thinker who has been revered for millennia afterwards should have met such fate is but one of the ‘Socrates problems’ addressed in this enlightening study. Here, Socrates’ philosophy is placed firmly in the context of the world, and the city, Athens, in which he lived. It is this background that sheds light upon his fate, despite the absence of any writings by Socrates himself. His influence on future thinkers such as Montaigne, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard is also examined, in an indispensable study of a man whose influence on Western philosophy has been unparalleled.

SEÁN SHEEHAN has written a number of accessible introductions to philosophy such as Wittgenstein: A Beginner’s Guide, and on the classics, such as Ancient Greece – Cultural Atlas for Young People.