"Cratylus" by Plato is a philosophical conversation from ancient Greece that asks big questions about language. It's all about if words get their meaning from an agreement, or if they're naturally connected to what they describe. Socrates chats with Cratylus, who thinks names are like true pictures, and Hermogenes, who believes we make up names. The book begins with a debate about if names have real meaning or if people just choose them. Socrates pushes Hermogenes to explain what he thinks about names being correct, hinting that names might actually have some truth to them. But Cratylus jumps in, and they both share different ideas: one thinks names have to perfectly match what they mean, and the other thinks names can be totally random. This setup leads to a fun and thought-provoking exploration of language, using jokes to make fun of popular ideas, and digging into tricky questions about how language, knowledge, and what's real are all connected.
Cratylus
By Plato
Witness a clash of intellects as they question whether words possess inherent truth or are simply tools forged by human agreement.
Summary
About the AuthorPlato, born Aristocles, was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. He raised problems for what became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Platonic Academy, a philosophical school in Athens where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known as Platonism.
Plato, born Aristocles, was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. He raised problems for what became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Platonic Academy, a philosophical school in Athens where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known as Platonism.
More Like This
Explore books similar to the one you're viewing
More by This Author
Discover other books written by the same author
Related by Category
Discover books in the same genre or category
Delsarte System of Oratory
By Delaumosne
Studies of the Greek Poets (Vol 1 of 2)
By John Addington Symonds
The Tales of the Heptameron, Vol. 2 (of 5)
By Queen Marguerite
"Stops", Or How to Punctuate A Practical Handbook for Writers and Students
By Paul Allardyce
Translations of German Poetry in American Magazines 1741-1810
By Edward Ziegler Davis
Terminal Compromise
By Winn Schwartau