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Socratic Dialogue
Socratic dialogue ( grc, Σωκρατικὸς λόγος) is a genre of literary prose developed in Greece at the turn of the fourth century BC. The earliest ones are preserved in the works of Plato and Xenophon and all involve Socrates as the protagonist. These dialogues and subsequent ones in the genre present a discussion of moral and philosophical problems between two or more individuals illustrating the application of the Socratic method. The dialogues may be either dramatic or narrative. While Socrates is often the main participant, his presence in the dialogue is not essential to the genre. Platonic dialogues Most of the Socratic dialogues referred to today are those of Plato. Platonic dialogues defined the literary genre subsequent philosophers used. Plato wrote approximately 35 dialogues, in most of which Socrates is the main character. Strictly speaking, the term refers to works in which Socrates is a character. As a genre, however, other texts are included; Plato's ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically related city-states and other territories. Most of these regions were officially unified only once, for 13 years, under Alexander the Great's empire from 336 to 323 BC (though this excludes a number of Greek city-states free from Alexander's jurisdiction in the western Mediterranean, around the Black Sea, Cyprus, and Cyrenaica). In Western history, the era of classical antiquity was immediately followed by the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine period. Roughly three centuries after the Late Bronze Age collapse of Mycenaean Greece, Greek urban poleis began to form in the 8th century BC, ushering in the Archaic period and the colonization of the Mediterranean Basin. This was followed by the age of Classical G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cratylus (dialogue)
''Cratylus'' ( ; grc, Κρατύλος, ''Kratylos'') is the name of a dialogue by Plato. Most modern scholars agree that it was written mostly during Plato's so-called middle period. In the dialogue, Socrates is asked by two men, Cratylus and Hermogenes, to tell them whether names are "conventional" or "natural", that is, whether language is a system of arbitrary signs or whether words have an intrinsic relation to the things they signify. The individual Cratylus was the first intellectual influence on Plato ( Sedley). Aristotle states that Cratylus influenced Plato by introducing to him the teachings of Heraclitus, according to MW. Riley. Summary The subject of Cratylus is ''on'' ''the correctness of names'' (περὶ ὀνομάτων ὀρθότητος), in other words, it is a critique on the subject of naming (Baxter). When discussing an ὄνομα (''onoma'' ) and how it would relate to its subject, Socrates compares the original creation of a word to the work of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lysis (dialogue)
''Lysis'' (; grc-gre, Λύσις, genitive case Λύσιδος, showing the stem Λύσιδ-, from which the infrequent translation Lysides), is a dialogue of Plato which discusses the nature of philia (φιλία), often translated as friendship, while the word's original content was of a much larger and more intimate bond.Hoerber, Robert G. “Plato's ‘Lysis.’” Phronesis, vol. 4, no. 1, 1959, pp. 15–28JSTOR/ref> It is generally classified as an early dialogue. The main characters are Socrates, the boys Lysis and Menexenus who are friends, as well as Hippothales, who is in unrequited love with Lysis and therefore, after the initial conversation, hides himself behind the surrounding listeners. Socrates proposes four possible notions regarding the true nature of loving friendship as: # Friendship between people who are similar, interpreted by Socrates as friendship between good men. # Friendship between men who are dissimilar. # Friendship between men who are neither good ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laws (dialogue)
The ''Laws'' (Greek: Νόμοι, ''Nómoi''; Latin: ''De Legibus'') is Plato's last and longest dialogue. The conversation depicted in the work's twelve books begins with the question of who is given the credit for establishing a civilization's laws. Its musings on the ethics of government and law have established it as a classic of political philosophy alongside Plato's more widely read ''Republic''. Scholars generally agree that Plato wrote this dialogue as an older man, having failed in his effort to guide the rule of the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse, instead having been thrown in prison. These events are alluded to in the ''Seventh Letter''. The text is noteworthy as Plato's only undisputed dialogue not to feature Socrates. Summary Setting Unlike most of Plato's dialogues, Socrates does not appear in the ''Laws'': the dialogue takes place on the island of Crete, and Socrates appears outside of Athens in Plato's writings only twice, in the '' Phaedrus'', where he is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laches (dialogue)
The ''Laches'' (; Greek: Λάχης) is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato. Participants in the discourse present competing definitions of the concept of courage. Characters *Socrates *Lysimachus – Son of the Athenian general and statesman, Aristides. * Melesias – A friend of Lysimachus. *Nicias – Athenian general and statesman, son of Niceratus. * Laches - Athenian general and statesman, son of Melanopus. *Aristides – Son of Lysimachus and grandson of the eponymous general and statesman. Summary Education and the value of military training Has military education a place in higher education? 78a–180a/h3> Lysimachus, son of Aristides, and Melesias, son of Thucydides (not the historian Thucydides), request advice from Laches and Nicias on whether or not they should have their sons (who are named after their famous grandfathers) trained to fight in armor. After each gives their opinion, Nicias for and Laches against, they seek Socrates for counsel. Laches introdu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ion (dialogue)
In Plato's ''Ion'' (; grc-gre, Ἴων) Socrates discusses with the titular character, a professional rhapsode who also lectures on Homer, the question of whether the rhapsode, a performer of poetry, gives his performance on account of his skill and knowledge or by virtue of divine possession. It is one of the shortest of Plato's dialogues. Characters *Socrates, the Greek philosopher. In this dialogue, he questions the nature of art and of divine inspiration. *Ion of Ephesus, the rhapsode. In poetry, he specialized in the works of Homer. The city of Ephesus was under Athenian control at this time and Athens had lost many of its beloved generals in the recent Sicilian expedition. Athens was in the process of hiring foreign mercenaries so Socrates' suggestion that Ion should serve as a general to the Athenian soldiers is not the non-sequitur it may at first appear when these circumstances are taken into account. Dialogue summary Ion's skill: Is it genuine? (530a–533c) Ion has jus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippias Major
''Hippias Major'' (or ''What is Beauty?'' or ''Greater Hippias'' ( el, Ἱππίας μείζων, ''Hippías meízōn''), to distinguish it from the '' Hippias Minor'', which has the same chief character), is one of the dialogues of Plato, although its authenticity has been doubted. It belongs to the early dialogues, written while the author was still young. Its precise date is uncertain, although a date of c. 390 BC has been suggested. In the ''Hippias Major'', Socrates and Hippias set out to find a definition for "beauty", but are destined to fail due to their inability to formulate an answer which encompasses the entire concept. The actual Greek term that is used in the dialogue is καλόν, which as an adjective often means fine or noble as well as beautiful. For this reason, translators such as Paul Woodruff typically translate the term (τὸ καλόν—the abstract noun of the adjective) as "the Fine" (things) instead of "Beauty." As in '' Charmides'', ''Lysis'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hipparchus (dialogue)
The ''Hipparchus'' (; grc-gre, Ἵππαρχος), or ''Hipparch'', is a dialogue attributed to the classical Greek philosopher and writer Plato. Like many of Plato's original works, Socrates is featured trying to define a single term, "love of gain" in this case, or philokerdēs''φιλοκερδές'' in the original text. There is some debate as to the work's authenticity. Stylistically, the dialogue bears many similarities to the ''Minos''. They are the only dialogues between Socrates and a single anonymous companion; they are the only dialogues where the titles bear the name of someone long-dead; and they are the only dialogues which begin with Socrates raising a "what is" question. Thomas L. Pangle, (1987), ''The roots of political philosophy: ten forgotten Socratic dialogues'', page 78. Cornell University Press, Thus, many scholars conclude that both were written by the same author, probably soon after the middle of the fourth century BC.John Madison Cooper, D. S. Hutchin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorgias (dialogue)
''Gorgias'' (; el, Γοργίας ) is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato around 380 BC. The dialogue depicts a conversation between Socrates and a small group of sophists (and other guests) at a dinner gathering. Socrates debates with the sophist seeking the true definition of rhetoric, attempting to pinpoint the essence of rhetoric and unveil the flaws of the sophistic oratory popular in Athens at the time. The art of persuasion was widely considered necessary for political and legal advantage in classical Athens, and rhetoricians promoted themselves as teachers of this fundamental skill. Some, like Gorgias, were foreigners attracted to Athens because of its reputation for intellectual and cultural sophistication. Socrates suggests that he is one of the few Athenians to practice true politics (521d). The characters *Socrates * Gorgias *Polus *Callicles *Chaerephon Major themes Definition of rhetoric Socrates interrogates Gorgias to determine the true definition of rheto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euthyphro
''Euthyphro'' (; grc, Εὐθύφρων, translit=Euthyphrōn; c. 399–395 BC), by Plato, is a Socratic dialogue whose events occur in the weeks before the trial of Socrates (399 BC), between Socrates and Euthyphro. The dialogue covers subjects such as the meaning of piety and justice. As is common with Plato's earliest dialogues, it ends in aporia. In this dialogue, Socrates meets Euthyphro at the porch of the King Archon. Socrates tells him that he is preparing to go to court against the charges of Meletus on the grounds of impiety. Euthyphro tells Socrates that he is going to court himself to prosecute his father for binding a worker in chains and leaving him to die. This has granted him the ire of his own family who believe his father was in the right. The worker had killed a fellow worker, which they believe exempts his father from liability for leaving him bound in the ditch to starve to death. Since Euthyphro seems assured of himself, Socrates asks him to define piety. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euthydemus (dialogue)
''Euthydemus'' ( el, Εὐθύδημος, ''Euthydemes''), written c. 384 BC, is a dialogue by Plato which satirizes what Plato presents as the logical fallacies of the Sophists. In it, Socrates describes to his friend Crito a visit he and various youths paid to two brothers, Euthydemus and Dionysodorus, both of whom were prominent Sophists and pankrationists from Chios and Thurii. The ''Euthydemus'' contrasts Socratic argumentation and education with the methods of Sophism, to the detriment of the latter. Throughout the dialogue, Euthydemus and Dionysodorus continually attempt to ensnare Socrates with what are presented as deceptive and meaningless arguments, primarily to demonstrate their professed philosophical superiority. As in many of the Socratic dialogues, the two Sophists against whom Socrates argues were indeed real people. Euthydemus was somewhat famous at the time the dialogue was written, and is mentioned several times by both Plato and Aristotle. Likewise, Dionyso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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