DOCSLIB.ORG

Saving Dialectic Through Plato's Philebus

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Saving Dialectic Through Plato's Philebus Saving Dialectic through Plato’s Philebus by Benjamin J. Reed A Senior Essay submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Bachelor of Arts in the Integral Curriculum of Liberal Arts. Michael Riley, Advisor Saint Mary’s College of California March, 2011 Reed 1 “If I say that it is impossible for me to keep quiet because that means disobeying the god, you will not believe me and will think I am being ironical. On the other hand, if I say that it is the greatest good for a man to discuss virtue everyday and those other things about which you hear me conversing and testing myself and others, for the unexamined life is not worth living for men, you will believe me even less.” (Socrates in the Apology, 38a) Introduction The Philebus ends where few other Platonic Dialogues do, with a concrete and definite answer. At the end of a long and intricate discussion, Protarchus and Socrates come together and declare an answer to the question: what is the good? Unlike most dialogues, which end in a state of confusion—not necessarily without its benefit, but a state of confusion nonetheless—the Philebus soars above, coming not only to a concrete conclusion, but a conclusion about the good. How then does this dialogue achieve an answer when so many have not, and what is Plato trying to show us with this stark contrast in results? What is Dialectic? In order to see how the Philebus is able to succeed where most dialogues fail, this essay will focus on this essay will focus on the dialogues of the Philebus, the Parmenides and the Euthydemus. Of the three, only the Philebus manages to present a satisfactory conclusion to its conversation. The form of the narrative and the subject of inquiry is not what sets these dialogues apart. The Philebus and Parmenides both investigate the forms and the one. The Philebus and the Euthydemus both examine knowledge and virtue. Like most Platonic dialogues, these three also follow the same general form. After a brief exposition which establishes context each dialogue settles into a conversation, not just any type of conversation, but a conversation which aims to be dialectical. If there is any reason as to why the Philebus succeeds where other dialogues fail, it must be because of Reed 2 the conversation that takes place within it, its dialectic. What is it that makes the Philebus’ dialectic better, or at least more successful, than the other dialogues? More generally, what is dialectic and how is it practiced? These questions are at the heart of why the Philebus stands apart, and answering them will be the focus of this essay. The dialectical discourse seen in the Parmenides and Euthydemus raise certain questions about the way in which dialectic is executed. They also bring up questions concerning the very possibility that dialectic can exist as a valid form of inquiry. The Philebus, in contrast, offers the hope of an answer to these questions. Somehow the process which is so vital to establishing a firm foundation for the good in the Philebus is also responsible for the confusion and disillusionment found in the other two dialogues. A closer examination of each dialogue in turn will explain exactly why the Philebus, and its form of dialectic, succeeds when the others fall short. Part 1 - The Parmenides The Parmenides presents the reader with a story about a Socrates who is much younger than the one seen in the majority of Plato’s works. This younger Socrates is only just beginning his career as a philosopher. The Parmenides contrasts this image with that of Parmenides, the leading philosopher of the previous generation, and his accomplished disciple Zeno. Parmenides and Zeno both hail from Elea and just happen to be visiting Athens at the time. This dialogue raises several questions about dialectic, while also showing how dialectic can be useful. A Benefit of Dialectic Parmenides, who at this time is already a celebrated philosopher in Greece, holds as a central tenet that everything in the world is one. Socrates, on the other hand, has a Reed 3 brand new concept that he believes is the foundation of all: the concept of a form “itself by itself” in which all objects partake (Parmenides, 128e). While the concept of the forms will later come to be a cornerstone of Socrates’ philosophical theory, at this stage in his life it is nothing more than a vaguely formed idea. What follows from Socrates’ conversation with Parmenides is the absolute dismantling of young Socrates’ idea (Parmenides, 130-134e). Parmenides rightly points out to Socrates that he is “trying to mark off something beautiful, and just, and good, and each one of the forms, too soon… before you have been properly trained” (Parmenides, 136c). The concept of the forms that Socrates brings with him for discussion is too primitive to hold up to examination. The idea of the form in itself is not a bad one, one which is brought up time and again throughout the Platonic Dialogues. At the time of the Parmenides, however, it is still an unfinished and untested idea. When asked whether forms apply only to some things, like the good and beautiful, or to all things, like mud and hair, Socrates admits that even though the thought has troubled him, “when I get bogged down in that, I hurry away, afraid that I may fall into some pit of nonsense and come to harm” (Parmenides, 130e). These questions, all valid, do indeed lead to a pit of nonsense, or at least to bizarre arguments which become untenable (Parmenides, 134e). Here Parmenides’ dialectic presents us with the positive aspect of dialectic. When Socrates is forced to answer another’s questions, the absurdities within his idea of the forms come to light. Left by himself, or at least without a partner in discourse who is willing to push him—that is, without dialectic—Socrates would have continued to have lived in ignorance, shying away from the questions that frighten him. Dialectic is what Reed 4 brings the tough questions to the fore, and prevents people from living in self-imposed ignorance. The second part of the Parmenides will serve largely as a demonstration of this property of dialectic First Problem and Definition of Dialectic This positive property of dialectic does not make the dismissal of Socrates’ forms any less troubling. Anyone who is even only remotely familiar with Plato’s writings knows that an account of the forms is one of the cornerstones of Socrates’, or at least Plato’s, philosophy. The implications of the nonexistence of forms are far reaching. To borrow the phrasing of Aristotle, all things which we encounter in the world are particulars. Knowledge about a particular can only, by definition, apply to that particular. In order to know anything about things in general we must have knowledge not only about that which is not particular, but particular things must also relate in a definite and unchanging way to these general principles. Not only that, but the general principles must be unchanging and eternal, otherwise knowledge is fleeting. To use Socrates’ phrasing of the problem, as stated in the Philebus: Socrates: Such a person assumes the task of dealing, not with things eternal, but with what comes to be, or has come to be? Parotarchus: Undeniably. Socrates: So how could we assert anything definite about these matters with exact truth if it never did posses nor will posses nor now possesses any kind of sameness? Protarchus: Impossible. Socrates: And how could we ever hope to achieve any kind of certainty about subject matters that in themselves do not possess any certainty? Protarchus: I see no way. Socrates: Then there can be no reason or knowledge that attains the highest truth about these subjects! (Philebus, 59a-b) For Socrates these unchanging principles, from which all particular things partake, are the forms. Without the forms, Socrates is left with no philosophical base to Reed 5 stand on. As Parmenides points out, dismissing the idea of the forms “will destroy the power of dialectic” (Parmenides, 135c). So far a definition of what dialectic is has not been given, either by this paper or by Plato. From the above statements (what Socrates says in the Philebus and what Parmenides says in the Parmenides about the forms and dialectic), however, at least a provisional definition can be made. The forms are those eternal things from which other subjects derive their consistency. Since dialectic is obviously an inquiry into some sort of truth which relies on the forms, dialectic must be the process by which reason “attains the highest truth”, this being knowledge of the unchanging. Until greater insight into the nature of dialectic can be gleaned, this preliminary definition will have to suffice. With the above definition of dialectic, or at least partial understanding, an alarming question arises. If Socrates cannot prove the existence of forms, or even define what they are so that they may exist hypothetically, how can dialectic exist? This problem, the lack of justification for the existence of forms, is the first problem of dialectic. This is the most important question concerning the nature of dialect. Not only does this problem cast doubt about dialectic, but also about knowledge in general. Second Problem of Dialectic Like the older Socrates in other dialogues, Parmenides has not lost faith in dialectic. Do not give up on dialectic, but “…put your [Socrates’] back into it and get more training…” is what he recommends. Even participating in something as mundane as what “people think useless—what the crowd call idle talk”, will help (Parmenides, 135d).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Trial and Death of Socrates : Being the Euthyphron, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo of Plato
    LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO /?. (Boffcen THE TRIAL & DEATH OF SOCRATES *O 5' dve^Tcurroj /3toj ov /Siwrds cu>0p(j!nrip ' An unexamined life is not worth living.' (PLATO, Apol. 38 A. ) THE TRIAL AND DEATH OF SOCRATES BEING THE EUTHYPHRON, APOLOGY, CRITO, AND PH^EDO OF PLATO TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY F. J. CHURCH, M.A. LONDON MACMILLAN AND CO. AND NEW YORK 1895 [ All rights reserved.] First Edition printed 1880 Second Edition, Golden Treasury Series, 1886 Reprinted 1887, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1892, March and September 1895 PREFACE. THIS book, which is intended principally for the large and increasing class of readers who wish to learn something of the masterpieces of Greek literature, and who cannot easily read them in Greek, was originally published by Messrs. Macmillan in a different form. Since its first appearance it has been revised and corrected throughout, and largely re- written. The chief part of the Introduction is new. It is not intended to be a general essay on Socrates, but only an attempt to explain and illustrate such points in his life and teaching as are referred to in these dialogues, which, taken by themselves, con- tain Plato's description of his great master's life, and work, and death. The books which were most useful to me in writing it are Professor Zeller's Socrates and the Socratic Schools, and the edition of the VI PREFACE. Apology by the late Rev. James Riddell, published after his death by the delegates of the Clarendon Press. His account of Socrates is singularly striking.
    [Show full text]
  • A Moderately Ironic Reading of Xenophon's Oeconomicus
    David M. JOHNSON Ischomachus the Model Husband? A Moderately Ironic Reading of Xenophon's Oeconomicus Xenophon's Oeconomicus is usually considered a treatise on household management masquerading as a Socratic dialogue (Pomeroy). But for others the reverse is true (Strauss and the Straussians; see also Mackenzie and Nails in EMC 1985, Too's review of Pomeroy in CR 1995, and the less orthodox Straussian Stevens). How one comes down on this issue will obviously affect one's evaluation of Ischomachus' relationship with his wife, and of Xenophon as a Socratic writer. I argue that the Oeconomicus is both Socratic and economic, both didactic and ironic. Xenophon chose Ischomachus because both his virtues and his vices have much to teach Critobulus, Socrates' immediate interlocutor, and Xenophon's readers. Our Ischomachus is probably the man whose wife went on to become the Chrysilla who would marry and bear a son to her son-in-law Callias, driving her daughter to attempt suicide (Andocides 1.124-127). There may be evidence for this in Oeconomicus itself. Callias would fall for Chrysilla again when she was "an old battleaxe" (Andocides 1.127); Ischomachus promises his wife that she can maintain her status even in old age (Oec. 7.20). The scandals which would beset Chrysilla and her children may shed light on Ischomachus' otherwise odd failure to say much about children to the wife he had married in large part for the sake of children. There are other ironies. Ischomachus hardly shares Socrates' understanding of property as that one knows how to use. Critobulus, in fact, is evidently already rich enough in conventional terms: he needs another sort of help.
    [Show full text]
  • The Roles of Solon in Plato's Dialogues
    The Roles of Solon in Plato’s Dialogues Dissertation Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Samuel Ortencio Flores, M.A. Graduate Program in Greek and Latin The Ohio State University 2013 Dissertation Committee: Bruce Heiden, Advisor Anthony Kaldellis Richard Fletcher Greg Anderson Copyrighy by Samuel Ortencio Flores 2013 Abstract This dissertation is a study of Plato’s use and adaptation of an earlier model and tradition of wisdom based on the thought and legacy of the sixth-century archon, legislator, and poet Solon. Solon is cited and/or quoted thirty-four times in Plato’s dialogues, and alluded to many more times. My study shows that these references and allusions have deeper meaning when contextualized within the reception of Solon in the classical period. For Plato, Solon is a rhetorically powerful figure in advancing the relatively new practice of philosophy in Athens. While Solon himself did not adequately establish justice in the city, his legacy provided a model upon which Platonic philosophy could improve. Chapter One surveys the passing references to Solon in the dialogues as an introduction to my chapters on the dialogues in which Solon is a very prominent figure, Timaeus- Critias, Republic, and Laws. Chapter Two examines Critias’ use of his ancestor Solon to establish his own philosophic credentials. Chapter Three suggests that Socrates re- appropriates the aims and themes of Solon’s political poetry for Socratic philosophy. Chapter Four suggests that Solon provides a legislative model which Plato reconstructs in the Laws for the philosopher to supplant the role of legislator in Greek thought.
    [Show full text]
  • Teachers' Pay in Ancient Greece
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Papers from the University Studies series (The University of Nebraska) University Studies of the University of Nebraska 5-1942 Teachers' Pay In Ancient Greece Clarence A. Forbes Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/univstudiespapers Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Studies of the University of Nebraska at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Papers from the University Studies series (The University of Nebraska) by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Teachers' Pay In Ancient Greece * * * * * CLARENCE A. FORBES UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA STUDIES Ma y 1942 STUDIES IN THE HUMANITIES NO.2 Note to Cataloger UNDER a new plan the volume number as well as the copy number of the University of Nebraska Studies was discontinued and only the numbering of the subseries carried on, distinguished by the month and the year of pu blica tion. Thus the present paper continues the subseries "Studies in the Humanities" begun with "University of Nebraska Studies, Volume 41, Number 2, August 1941." The other subseries of the University of Nebraska Studies, "Studies in Science and Technology," and "Studies in Social Science," are continued according to the above plan. Publications in all three subseries will be supplied to recipients of the "University Studies" series. Corre­ spondence and orders should be addressed to the Uni­ versity Editor, University of Nebraska, Lincoln. University of Nebraska Studies May 1942 TEACHERS' PAY IN ANCIENT GREECE * * * CLARENCE A.
    [Show full text]
  • Phaedrus Plato
    Phaedrus Plato TRANSLATED BY BENJAMIN JOWETT ROMAN ROADS MEDIA Classical education, from a Christian perspective, created for the homeschool. Roman Roads combines its technical expertise with the experience of established authorities in the field of classical education to create quality video courses and resources tailored to the homeschooler. Just as the first century roads of the Roman Empire were the physical means by which the early church spread the gospel far and wide, so Roman Roads Media uses today’s technology to bring timeless truth, goodness, and beauty into your home. By combining excellent instruction augmented with visual aids and examples, we help inspire in your children a lifelong love of learning. Phaedrus by Plato translated by Benjamin Jowett This text was designed to accompany Roman Roads Media's 4-year video course Old Western Culture: A Christian Approach to the Great Books. For more information visit: www.romanroadsmedia.com. Other video courses by Roman Roads Media include: Grammar of Poetry featuring Matt Whitling Introductory Logic taught by Jim Nance Intermediate Logic taught by Jim Nance French Cuisine taught by Francis Foucachon Copyright © 2013 by Roman Roads Media, LLC Roman Roads Media 739 S Hayes St, Moscow, Idaho 83843 A ROMAN ROADS ETEXT Phaedrus Plato TRANSLATED BY BENJAMIN JOWETT INTRODUCTION The Phaedrus is closely connected with the Symposium, and may be regarded either as introducing or following it. The two Dialogues together contain the whole philosophy of Plato on the nature of love, which in the Republic and in the later writings of Plato is only introduced playfully or as a figure of speech.
    [Show full text]
  • The Historicity of Plato's Apology of Socrates
    Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 1946 The Historicity of Plato's Apology of Socrates David J. Bowman Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses Part of the Classical Literature and Philology Commons Recommended Citation Bowman, David J., "The Historicity of Plato's Apology of Socrates" (1946). Master's Theses. 61. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/61 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1946 David J. Bowman !HE HISTORICITY OP PLATO'S APOLOGY OF SOCRATES BY DA.VID J. BOWJWf~ S.J• .l. !BESIS SUBMITTED Ilf PARTIAL FULFILIJIE.NT OF THB: R}gQUIRE'IIENTS POR THE DEGREE OF IIA.STER OF ARTS Ill LOYOLA UlfiVERSITY JULY 1946 -VI'fA. David J. Bowman; S.J•• was born in Oak Park, Ill1no1a, on Ma7 20, 1919. Atter b!a eleaentar7 education at Ascension School# in Oak Park, he attended LoJola AcademJ ot Chicago, graduat1DS .from. there in June, 1937. On September 1, 1937# he entered the Sacred Heart Novitiate ot the SocietJ ot Jesus at Milford~ Ohio. Por the tour Jear• he spent there, he was aoademicallJ connected with Xavier Univeraitr, Cincinnati, Ohio. In August ot 1941 he tranaterred to West Baden College o.f Lorol& Universit7, Obicago, and received the degree ot Bachelor o.f Arts with a major in Greek in Deo.aber, 1941.
    [Show full text]
  • Plato Apology of Socrates and Crito
    COLLEGE SERIES OF GREEK AUTHORS EDITED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF JOHN WILLIAMS WHITE, LEWIS R. PACKARD, a n d THOMAS D. SEYMOUR. PLATO A p o l o g y o f S o c r a t e s AND C r i t o EDITED ON THE BASIS OF CRON’S EDITION BY LOUIS DYER A s s i s t a n t ·Ρι;Οχ'ε&^ο^ ι ν ^University. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY GINN & COMPANY. 1902. I P ■ C o p · 3 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by J o h n W il l ia m s W h i t e a n d T h o m a s D. S e y m o u r , In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. J . S. C u s h in g & Co., P r i n t e r s , B o s t o n . PREFACE. T his edition of the Apology of Socrates and the Crito is based upon Dr. Christian Cron’s eighth edition, Leipzig, 1882. The Notes and Introduction here given have in the main been con­ fined within the limits intelligently drawn by Dr. Cron, whose commentaries upon various dialogues of Plato have done and still do so much in Germany to make the study of our author more profitable as well as pleasanter. No scruple has been felt, how­ ever, in making changes. I trust there are few if any of these which Dr. Cron might not himself make if he were preparing his work for an English-thinking and English-speaking public.
    [Show full text]
  • Theory of Forms 1 Theory of Forms
    Theory of Forms 1 Theory of Forms Plato's theory of Forms or theory of Ideas[1] [2] [3] asserts that non-material abstract (but substantial) forms (or ideas), and not the material world of change known to us through sensation, possess the highest and most fundamental kind of reality.[4] When used in this sense, the word form is often capitalized.[5] Plato speaks of these entities only through the characters (primarily Socrates) of his dialogues who sometimes suggest that these Forms are the only true objects of study that can provide us with genuine knowledge; thus even apart from the very controversial status of the theory, Plato's own views are much in doubt.[6] Plato spoke of Forms in formulating a possible solution to the problem of universals. Forms Terminology: the Forms and the forms The English word "form" may be used to translate two distinct concepts that concerned Plato—the outward "form" or appearance of something, and "Form" in a new, technical nature, that never ...assumes a form like that of any of the things which enter into her; ... But the forms which enter into and go out of her are the likenesses of real existences modelled after their patterns in a wonderful and inexplicable manner.... The objects that are seen, according to Plato, are not real, but literally mimic the real Forms. In the allegory of the cave expressed in Republic, the things that are ordinarily perceived in the world are characterized as shadows of the real things, which are not perceived directly. That which the observer understands when he views the world mimics the archetypes of the many types and properties (that is, of universals) of things observed.
    [Show full text]
  • The Apology of Socrates, by Plato
    The Apology of Socrates, by Plato The Project Gutenberg Edition Trans: Benjamin Jowett INTRODUCTION. Socrates has been put on trial by the citizens of Athens for multiple “crimes” all related to his teaching of philosophy. Meletus is his prosecutor, but he is addressing a jury of hundreds of his fellow citizens. In this famous work, Socrates defends his practice of questioning everything and describes the beauty of a philosophical life. He also antagonizes his fellow Athenians… Note, Plato was Socrates’ student and this is report of how the trial went from Socrates’ perspective. Socrates himself wrote nothing – his philosophical career was spent verbally debating his fellow Athenians. APOLOGY How you, O Athenians, have been affected by my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that they almost made me forget who I was--so persuasively did they speak; and yet they have hardly uttered a word of truth. But of the many falsehoods told by them, there was one which quite amazed me;--I mean when they said that you should be upon your guard and not allow yourselves to be deceived by the force of my eloquence. To say this, when they were certain to be detected as soon as I opened my lips and proved myself to be anything but a great speaker, did indeed appear to me most shameless--unless by the force of eloquence they mean the force of truth; for is such is their meaning, I admit that I am eloquent. But in how different a way from theirs! Well, as I was saying, they have scarcely spoken the truth at all; but from me you shall hear the whole truth: not, however, delivered after their manner in a set oration duly ornamented with words and phrases.
    [Show full text]
  • Plato's Euthydemus
    PLATO’S EUTHYDEMUS: A STUDY ON THE RELATIONS BETWEEN LOGIC AND EDUCATION Plato’s Euthydemus is an unlucky dialogue. Few dealt with it in its own right, not just as part of a wider discussion of Plato, and fewer still saw in it more than a topic of sophistic fallacies. Some, of course, paid attention to the constructive sections of the dialogue, but only rarely do we come across a real attempt to unify its different aspects.1 In this paper I propose to show how, in the Euthydemus, Plato tries to distinguish between the Socratic and the Sophistic conceptions of education, by tracing them to their roots in the opposing views of the Sophists — and especially those of the second generation — and of Socrates about truth and about the role of logic. And although the eristic techniques of Euthydemus and Dionysodorus are obviously fallacious, they turn out to be developments of Protagoras’ views and follow from philosophical positions worthy of serious examination. The Euthydemus is a caricature, to be sure. But, as all good caricature, it has a serious intent. It sketches the degeneration of the Sophistic approach to education, in some of its aspects. More important­ ly, it distinguishes Socratic education from the methods and effects of its Sophistic counterpart. Euthydemus and Dionysodorus, the two sophist brothers, are reminis­ cent of the great Sophists of the Protagoras in more than one way. They are polymaths like Hippias, and at one time or another have taught a variety of arts, from forensic rhetoric to armed combat. Also, they have Prodicus’ penchant for linguistic analysis.
    [Show full text]
  • The Phaedo by Plato
    Selections from The Phaedo by Plato The Death of Scorates, David, 1787. [The Phaedo tells the story of Socrates’ final moments spent, as one would expect, in philosophical dialogue with his friends. The main subject of the dialogue is the immortality of the soul. The Phaedo is one of Plato’s middle period dialogues and, as such, reveals much of Plato’s own philosophy. In the arguments Socrates puts forth for the immortality of the soul we find a clear exposition of both Plato’s metaphysics as well as his epistemology. In the first section we find Socrates explaining to his friends why a true philosopher does not fear death. Philosophy is here described as a preparation for death.] ECHECRATES: Were you there with Socrates yourself, Phaedo, when he was executed, or 57 did you hear about it from somebody else? PHAEDO: No, I was there myself, Echecrates. ECHECRATES: Then what did the master say before he died, and how did he meet his end? I should very much like to know. None of the people in Phlius go to Athens much in these days, and it is a long time since we had any visitor from there who could give us any definite b information, except that he was executed by drinking hemlock. Nobody could tell us anything more than that. PHAEDO: Then haven't you even heard how his trial went? 58 ECHECRATES: Yes, someone told us about that, and we were surprised because there was obviously a long interval between it and the execution. How was that, Phaedo? PHAEDO: A fortunate coincidence, Echecrates.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Arrangement of the Platonic Dialogues
    Ryan C. Fowler 25th Hour On the Arrangement of the Platonic Dialogues I. Thrasyllus a. Diogenes Laertius (D.L.), Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers 3.56: “But, just as long ago in tragedy the chorus was the only actor, and afterwards, in order to give the chorus breathing space, Thespis devised a single actor, Aeschylus a second, Sophocles a third, and thus tragedy was completed, so too with philosophy: in early times it discoursed on one subject only, namely physics, then Socrates added the second subject, ethics, and Plato the third, dialectics, and so brought philosophy to perfection. Thrasyllus says that he [Plato] published his dialogues in tetralogies, like those of the tragic poets. Thus they contended with four plays at the Dionysia, the Lenaea, the Panathenaea and the festival of Chytri. Of the four plays the last was a satiric drama; and the four together were called a tetralogy.” b. Characters or types of dialogues (D.L. 3.49): 1. instructive (ὑφηγητικός) A. theoretical (θεωρηµατικόν) a. physical (φυσικόν) b. logical (λογικόν) B. practical (πρακτικόν) a. ethical (ἠθικόν) b. political (πολιτικόν) 2. investigative (ζητητικός) A. training the mind (γυµναστικός) a. obstetrical (µαιευτικός) b. tentative (πειραστικός) B. victory in controversy (ἀγωνιστικός) a. critical (ἐνδεικτικός) b. subversive (ἀνατρεπτικός) c. Thrasyllan categories of the dialogues (D.L. 3.50-1): Physics: Timaeus Logic: Statesman, Cratylus, Parmenides, and Sophist Ethics: Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Phaedrus, Symposium, Menexenus, Clitophon, the Letters, Philebus, Hipparchus, Rivals Politics: Republic, the Laws, Minos, Epinomis, Atlantis Obstetrics: Alcibiades 1 and 2, Theages, Lysis, Laches Tentative: Euthyphro, Meno, Io, Charmides and Theaetetus Critical: Protagoras Subversive: Euthydemus, Gorgias, and Hippias 1 and 2 :1 d.
    [Show full text]