Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Philosophy
Strategic Meaning: Words As Tools Or Traps, Debra Blankenship
Strategic Meaning: Words As Tools Or Traps, Debra Blankenship
Anthós Journal (1990-1996)
Upon initial glance, Plato’s Cratylus appears to be a grand romp of words with Socrates’s wit front and center. But a closer examination of the text shows a deadly serious, carefully plotted battle by Socrates to establish his philosophical perspective as preeminent. Plato thus reveals, by the end of the dialogue, that the true battle that Socrates is waging is the struggle to establish what foundation knowledge shall be built upon.
The Cratylus: An Explication, Elizabeth Upham
The Cratylus: An Explication, Elizabeth Upham
Anthós Journal (1990-1996)
In Plato’s Cratylus, Socrates, Hermogenes, and Cratylus attempt to discover if things are named with consideration to phusis or nomos. This paper traces these arguments throughout Plato’s dialogue. In the end, Plato is suggesting that Socrates is like a legislator with the power to bestow appropriate names to things, even as he hides Socrates behind a thin veil of uncertainty. Ultimately the reader must make up his or her own mind, why is Socrates so full of contradictions and why does Plato portray him this way.
The Importance Of Language In Plato's Cratylus, Jeffrey Tinnin
The Importance Of Language In Plato's Cratylus, Jeffrey Tinnin
Anthós Journal (1990-1996)
By suggesting that Plato’s Cratylus is in the form of a ring composition, this paper explores how this form plays out within the context of a dialogue on the nature of language. It traces the ring composition form as it applies to the issue of naming. In the end it argues that for Plato the development of language is essential for the growth and maintenance of the soul. The twin structures of the ring compositional form enable this understanding in interesting and complex ways.