So much good stuff today! But my post is only going to be about connections to the Cratylus:
1. It is interesting to note that the second half of Protagoras's quote at 152a is one of the first definitions of truth that Socrates uses in the Cratylus: "... of the things which are, that they are, and of the things which are not, that they are not." Is Socrates implying that the "man is the measure" doctrine is a claim about truth, and perhaps relativism about the truth? And what might this tell us about the status of that definition of truth in the Cratylus: is it something that Socrates finds plausible, or given its source in Protagoras (and perhaps elsewhere as well), should we be even more wary of that definition?
2. It's interesting that we just ended the Cratylus with warnings about the problems with a fluxy metaphysics, especially as it affects our epistemology and metaphysics of truth. And then the same theme gets picked up more or less at the beginning here. Of course, these are major themes all over Plato, so I'm not sure that much can be inferred. But there is perhaps some small amount of evidence mounting that these two dialogues might be related in interesting ways.
So much good stuff today! But my post is only going to be about connections to the Cratylus:
ReplyDelete1. It is interesting to note that the second half of Protagoras's quote at 152a is one of the first definitions of truth that Socrates uses in the Cratylus: "... of the things which are, that they are, and of the things which are not, that they are not." Is Socrates implying that the "man is the measure" doctrine is a claim about truth, and perhaps relativism about the truth? And what might this tell us about the status of that definition of truth in the Cratylus: is it something that Socrates finds plausible, or given its source in Protagoras (and perhaps elsewhere as well), should we be even more wary of that definition?
2. It's interesting that we just ended the Cratylus with warnings about the problems with a fluxy metaphysics, especially as it affects our epistemology and metaphysics of truth. And then the same theme gets picked up more or less at the beginning here. Of course, these are major themes all over Plato, so I'm not sure that much can be inferred. But there is perhaps some small amount of evidence mounting that these two dialogues might be related in interesting ways.
Happy reading!