PHIL-330 Chapter Notes - Chapter hyland,drew: Dialectic, Aporia
Document Summary
Modem philosophic commentary and criticism of the platonic dialogues is characterized by a striking tension between theory and practice. It is entirely uncontroversial to offer as a principle of interpretation the thesis that the dialogue form itself is important to an understanding of the philosophy contained therein. Virtually everyone would accede to this principle, and the preface to most books on plato duly makes note of it in a paragraph or so. Dramatic structure of the dialogue has philosophic importance. If the writing has been those of the historical socrates, then they were sufficient to prevent. Socrates from writing at all, but only to keep plato from writing treatises. This would further suggest that plato took the objections seriously, but that in the dialogue form he has found a means to write, yet answer the valid objections raised by socrates.
