21 the Theory of Ideas in the Cratylus J. V. LUCE I He Traditional Version Of

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21 the Theory of Ideas in the Cratylus J. V. LUCE I He Traditional Version Of

in The Theory of Ideas the Cratylus J. V. LUCE I he traditional version of the Platonic theory of Ideas is mainly from the and discussions of abstract derived systematic eloquent thought and supra-sensible reality in the Phaedo and the central books of the Republic. In these dialogues the x.<ùp?cr{.lÓC;of Idea from sensible object, which Aristotle singled out as the distinctive difference between Platonic and Socratic thought about essence, is very marked. Assuming that the Cratylus is to be dated after the shorter dialogues where the influence of Socrates is dominant, but before the Phaedo and Republic, it becomes of interest to try to determine how far the traditional features of the theory can be detected in the Cratylus.1 I shall argue in support of the view that the Cyatylus constitutes an important stage in the development of Plato's thought about the Ideas, 2 but a stage distinctly prior to the position reached in the Phaedo.2 In the belief that the Cratylus dates from a transitional period of Plato's life,3 a period when he was elaborating his own distinctive philosophy against the background of previous speculation and on foundations supplied by Socrates, I shall contend that there is much in the presen- tation of the Ideas in the Cyatylus which is consistent, and nothing which is inconsistent, with such an evolutionary hypothesis. I shall 21 reject any interpretation which proclaims the e18q of the Cyatylus to be as 'separated' as those of the Phaedo and Republic.. Discussion of this problem inevitably centres round the two passages in the Cratylus, 389 a 5-390 e 4 and 439b 10-end, where certain arguments and terminology appear to presuppose the theory of Ideas in its Phaedo-Republic form. I shall refer to these passages as (A) and (B) respectively. At first glance the e180q of shuttle in (A) seems to be on a par with the l8lmL of Bed and Table in Republic 596 b. In Cratylus 389b5 Socrates talks of (xuro 8 Eaicv XEPXLÇand in Republic 597 a of 8 sort xxivq. In (B) the language at 439c «6repov w elvcxl cx'ur6 xa7?ov xon is very similar to that of Phaedo 65 d w elv«1 8ix«iov «6rl § o6ae'v;). Terminology reminiscent of the theory in its fully-fledged form appears also in other scattered passages of the Cratylus.4 But terminology by itself is an unreliable guide. It is not Plato's normal practice to embalm his thought in fixed phrases of unvarying meaning. He proceeds by progressively investing current terms with deeper philosophical meanings. His terminology matures with his thought. This is obviously true of e'180q and the appositional use of In any assessment of the two key Cyatylus passages pre- conceptions based on technical usages in later dialogues must be carefully avoided. We must not assume too readily that close similarity of terminology implies close similarity of thought. The whole context and argument of (A) and (B) must be closely examined, and other relevant passages of the dialogue considered, before we can attempt to decide how closely the metaphysical framework of the Cyatylus approximates to that of the Phaedo and Republic.5 II In discussing passage (A) we are not prirnarily concerned with the vexed question whether, and to what extent, Plato recognised Ideas of artefacta.6 If the 181mof Bed in the Republic is not a genuine Idea then 22 .

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CRATYLUS by Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett the Project Gutenberg Ebook of Cratylus, by Plato
CRATYLUS By Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cratylus, by Plato INTRODUCTION. The Cratylus has always been a source of perplexity to the student of Plato. While in fancy and humour, and perfection of style and metaphysical originality, this dialogue may be ranked with the best of the Platonic writings, there has been an uncertainty about the motive of the piece, which interpreters have hitherto not succeeded in dispelling. We need not suppose that Plato used words in order to conceal his thoughts, or that he would have been unintelligible to an educated contemporary. In the Phaedrus and Euthydemus we also find a difficulty in determining the precise aim of the author. Plato wrote satires in the form of dialogues, and his meaning, like that of other satirical writers, has often slept in the ear of posterity. Two causes may be assigned for this obscurity: 1st, the subtlety and allusiveness of this species of composition; 2nd, the difficulty of reproducing a state of life and literature which has passed away. A satire is unmeaning unless we can place ourselves back among the persons and thoughts of the age in which it was written. Had the treatise of Antisthenes upon words, or the speculations of Cratylus, or some other Heracleitean of the fourth century B.C., on the nature of language been preserved to us; or if we had lived at the time, and been 'rich enough to attend the fifty-drachma course of Prodicus,' we should have understood Plato better, and many points which are now attributed to the extravagance of Socrates' humour would have been found, like the allusions of Aristophanes in the Clouds, to have gone home to the sophists and grammarians of the day.
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The Cratylus
Anthós (1990-1996) Volume 1 Number 2 Article 7 1991 Explication: The Cratylus Joseph S. Gray Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/anthos_archives Part of the Classics Commons, and the Philosophy Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Gray, Joseph S. (1991) "Explication: The Cratylus," Anthós (1990-1996): Vol. 1 : No. 2 , Article 7. Available at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/anthos_archives/vol1/iss2/7 This open access Article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). All documents in PDXScholar should meet accessibility standards. If we can make this document more accessible to you, contact our team. EXPLICATION: THE CRATYLUS Joseph Stephen Gray lato's Cratylus is a dialogue on language P involving Cratylus, Hermogenes, and Socrates. It is an argument between nomos (law, convention) and phusis (nature), two concepts which explain the process by which things are named. Socrates, in this dialogue, seeks to discover whether names originate out of convention and a,greement, or whether these names evolve,d out of some similarity to the object they represe~t. .He supports and rejects both points to some degree. He finds that names can be altere9 and taken apart to find their literal meaning from other names. He also notices that certain sounds tend to be characteristic of qualities found in the object being named. Socrates defines the naming process as agreed information given to distinguish things, and uses the word legislation, a word used mainly to describe lawmaking, to describe it.
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Distribution Agreement In presenting this thesis or dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree from Emory University, I hereby grant to Emory University and its agents the non-exclusive license to archive, make accessible, and display my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known, including display on the world wide web. I understand that I may select some access restrictions as part of the online submission of the thesis or dissertation. I retain all ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. Signature: _________________________ ___________________ Jong Hwan Lee Date The Unity of the Philebus: Continuity in Plato’s Philosophy By Jong Hwan Lee Doctor of Philosophy Philosophy ___________________________________ Dr. Richard Patterson Advisor ___________________________________ Dr. Ann Hartle Committee Member ___________________________________ Dr. Richard D. Parry Committee Member Accepted: ___________________________________ Lisa A. Tedesco, Ph. D. Dean of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies ______________ Date The Unity of the Philebus: Continuity in Plato’s Philosophy By Jong Hwan Lee B.A., Seoul National University, 2002 M.A., Seoul National University, 2005 M.A., Emory University, 2010 Advisor: Dr. Richard Patterson, Ph.D. An abstract of A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy 2013 Abstract The Unity of the Philebus: Continuity in Plato’s Philosophy By Jong Hwan Lee The Philebus is Plato’s answer to the question what the human good is.
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