Is "the Cratylus" one of the dialogues which (more of less) represents Socrates' opinion or one of those in which Plato asserts his perspective?
On Sun, Aug 18, 2013 at 8:41 PM, Shane Mage <[email protected]> wrote: > > On Aug 18, 2013, at 11:02 PM, Jim Devine wrote: > > > (I’m no philosopher, but as far as I can tell Plato thought the > “correct” definition would correspond to the divine “form,” which he > assumed exists. The form is assumed to be simple (having no complicated > concrete details, no shades of gray). Both the definition and the form are > abstract, so it’s possible for a human-made definition to be correct in > defining the form. Of course, Plato assumed that he’s the type who can find > the correct definition. Not everyone is so smart.) > > > You should read the dialogue that Plato wrote on that subjecty: the > Cratylus. In this dialogue the two positions counterposed are that > "definitions" (meanings of words) are inherent in the language and that > they are purely conventional. Socrates shows (as usual) that neither > position (as developed in the dialogue) is at all satisfactory. But he > makes it clear that the right approach to language should treat it as a > sort of tool, 2.300 years before Wittgenstein! > > > > > Shane Mage > > "L'après-vie, c'est une auberge espagnole. L'on n'y trouve que ce qu'on a > apporté." > > Bardo Thodol > > > > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > > -- Jim Devine / "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." -- Philip K. Dick
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