Theaetetus (dialogue)
Each of these definitions is shown to be unsatisfactory as the dialogue ends in aporia as Socrates leaves to face a hearing for his trial for impiety.
The Theaetetus is one of the few works of Plato that gives contextual clues on the timeline of its authorship: The dialogue is framed by a brief scene in which Euclid of Megara and his friend Terpsion witness a wounded Theataetus returning on his way home after from fighting in an Athenian battle at Corinth, from which he apparently died of his wounds.
The two older men spot Theaetetus rubbing himself down with oil, and Theodorus reviews the facts about him, that he is intelligent, virile, and an orphan whose inheritance has been squandered by trustees.
She delivered babies and for his part, Socrates can tell when a young man is in the throes of trying to give birth to a thought.
Socrates thinks that the idea that knowledge is perception must be identical in meaning, if not in actual words, to Protagoras' famous maxim "Man is the measure of all things."
Socrates wrestles to conflate the two ideas, and stirs in for good measure a claim about Homer being the captain of a team of Heraclitan flux theorists.
He admonishes the boy to be patient and bear with his questions, so that his hidden beliefs may be yanked out into the bright light of day.
It serves as a supporting theory to the Protagorean interpretation of Theaetetus's claim, in order that they might fully inquire as to the validity of this premise.
Socrates explains that philosophers are open to mockery because they are not concerned about what interests most people: they could not care less about the scandals in their neighbor's house, the tracing of one's ancestry to Heracles, and so on.
Theodorus, the old geometer, tells Socrates that he finds this sort of thing easier to follow than his earlier arguments.
Socrates says that the men of flux, like Homer and Heraclitus, are really hard to talk to because you can't pin them down.
He says that mistaking eleven for twelve is like going in for a pigeon and coming up with a dove,[k] Theaetetus joins in the game, and says that to complete the picture, you need to envision pieces of ignorance flying around in there with the birds.
[n] Although Theaetetus hopes it is possible the lawyer will be able to 'persuade' the jury of the truth,[o] Socrates is unsatisfied as if they are justly persuaded, they will have true knowledge.
[y] Theaetetus initially says they are not, but changes his mind in confusion when Socrates leads him through maths and the different ways of expressing the number six.
[ab] Socrates returns to talking about elements and complexes to propose that they are in the same class, as they have 'no parts and [are] a single form.
'[ac] Socrates sums up this reversal by remarking that if anyone tries to tell them the complex is knowable and expressable while the element is the opposite, 'we had better not listen to him'.
'[af] However, he wonders if that is so, everyone will be able to make judgement 'with an account' as they can all (except for the deaf and dumb) vocalize and express opinions on matters.
[ag] Socrates examines it further by suggesting that a man who can vocalize his judgement must be able to make reference to the primary elements of the subject.
'[aj] Socrates questions Theaetetus by drawing on his learning of how to write, and the idea that if you misplace individual elements (letters) of a name, that does not mean you have knowledge of it.
The third definition Socrates offers is 'being able to tell some mark by which the object you are asked about differs from all other things' [am], giving the example that the Sun is distinct for its brightness.
Thus the answer to the initial question 'What is knowledge' would be heavily circuitous - correct judgement accompanied by 'knowledge' of the differentness, which Socrates admits is 'silly' [an].
Socrates concludes the dialogue by announcing that all the two have produced are mere "wind-eggs" and that he must be getting on now to the courthouse to face his trial being brought against him by Meletus.
[note 1] This is significant because it is one of the very few extant references in greater antiquity (Fourth century BCE) to Epicharmus and his work.
The dialogue includes the earliest reference to The Astrologer who Fell into a Well, one of Aesop's fables, in which the pre-Socratic philosopher Thales, who is known for his work in astronomy and his successful prediction of a solar eclipse.
Writing in the 1st century BCE, the Middle Platonist Eudorus of Alexandria references the definition of a philosopher as a "likeness to a god"[ao] and uses it to justify his synthesis of Platonism with Pythagorean teachings on virtue.
He sent a copy of it to his friend Maurice O'Connor Drury and told him that "Plato in this dialogue is occupied with the same problems that I am writing about".
[12] Although he found that the text was preoccupied with the same problems he was dealing with, he critiqued what he considered the false pretence of discussion, telling O.K.
