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class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><i>Sophist</i> (dialogue)</h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. 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interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Sofista" title="El Sofista – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="El Sofista" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofisten_(dialog)" title="Sofisten (dialog) – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Sofisten (dialog)" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de badge-Q17437796 badge-featuredarticle mw-list-item" title="featured article badge"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophistes" title="Sophistes – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Sophistes" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofist_(Platoni_dialoog)" title="Sofist (Platoni dialoog) – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Sofist (Platoni dialoog)" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A3%CE%BF%CF%86%CE%B9%CF%83%CF%84%CE%AE%CF%82_(%CE%A0%CE%BB%CE%B1%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%8C%CF%82_%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%AC%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%BF%CF%82)" title="Σοφιστής (Πλατωνικός διάλογος) – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Σοφιστής (Πλατωνικός διάλογος)" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofista_(di%C3%A1logo)" title="Sofista (diálogo) – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Sofista (diálogo)" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%81%D8%B3%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%A6%DB%8C_(%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%88%D9%86)" title="سوفسطائی (افلاطون) – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="سوفسطائی (افلاطون)" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Sophiste" title="Le Sophiste – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Le Sophiste" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-is mw-list-item"><a href="https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A6%C3%B0arinn_(Platon)" title="Fræðarinn (Platon) – Icelandic" lang="is" hreflang="is" data-title="Fræðarinn (Platon)" data-language-autonym="Íslenska" data-language-local-name="Icelandic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Íslenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofista_(dialogo)" title="Sofista (dialogo) – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Sofista (dialogo)" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ka mw-list-item"><a href="https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%A1%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A4%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1%E1%83%A2%E1%83%98_(%E1%83%9E%E1%83%9A%E1%83%90%E1%83%A2%E1%83%9D%E1%83%9C%E1%83%98)" title="სოფისტი (პლატონი) – Georgian" lang="ka" hreflang="ka" data-title="სოფისტი (პლატონი)" data-language-autonym="ქართული" data-language-local-name="Georgian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ქართული</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-la mw-list-item"><a href="https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophista_(Plato)" title="Sophista (Plato) – Latin" lang="la" hreflang="la" data-title="Sophista (Plato)" data-language-autonym="Latina" data-language-local-name="Latin" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_szofista" title="A szofista – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="A szofista" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofist_(Plato)" title="Sofist (Plato) – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Sofist (Plato)" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" 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a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks hlist"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle">Part of <a href="/wiki/Category:Platonism" title="Category:Platonism">a series</a> on</td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle"><a href="/wiki/Platonism" title="Platonism">Platonism</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Platon.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Platon.png/100px-Platon.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="113" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Platon.png/150px-Platon.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Platon.png/200px-Platon.png 2x" data-file-width="314" data-file-height="354" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Life_of_Plato" title="Life of Plato">Life</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Theory_of_forms" title="Theory of forms">Theory of forms</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Form_of_the_Good" title="Form of the Good">Form of the Good</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_theory_of_soul" title="Plato's theory of soul">Theory of soul</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Platonic_epistemology" title="Platonic epistemology">Epistemology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_political_philosophy" title="Plato's political philosophy">Political philosophy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Euthyphro_dilemma" title="Euthyphro dilemma">Euthyphro dilemma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Demiurge" title="Demiurge">Demiurge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Atlantis" title="Atlantis">Atlantis</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <i><a href="/wiki/The_Republic_(Plato)" class="mw-redirect" title="The Republic (Plato)">The Republic</a></i></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Allegory_of_the_cave" title="Allegory of the cave">Allegory of the cave</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Analogy_of_the_Sun" title="Analogy of the Sun">Analogy of the Sun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Analogy_of_the_divided_line" title="Analogy of the divided line">Analogy of the divided line</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosopher_king" title="Philosopher king">Philosopher king</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ship_of_State" title="Ship of State">Ship of State</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ring_of_Gyges" title="Ring of Gyges">Ring of Gyges</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Myth_of_Er" title="Myth of Er">Myth of Er</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Category:Dialogues_of_Plato" title="Category:Dialogues of Plato">The works of Plato</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Euthyphro" title="Euthyphro">Euthyphro</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Apology_(Plato)" title="Apology (Plato)">Apology</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Crito" title="Crito">Crito</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Phaedo" title="Phaedo">Phaedo</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Cratylus_(dialogue)" title="Cratylus (dialogue)">Cratylus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Theaetetus_(dialogue)" title="Theaetetus (dialogue)">Theaetetus</a></i></li> <li><i><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Sophist</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Statesman_(dialogue)" title="Statesman (dialogue)">Statesman</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Parmenides_(dialogue)" title="Parmenides (dialogue)">Parmenides</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Philebus" title="Philebus">Philebus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Symposium_(Plato)" title="Symposium (Plato)">Symposium</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Phaedrus_(dialogue)" title="Phaedrus (dialogue)">Phaedrus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/First_Alcibiades" title="First Alcibiades">First Alcibiades</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Second_Alcibiades" title="Second Alcibiades">Second Alcibiades</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hipparchus_(dialogue)" title="Hipparchus (dialogue)">Hipparchus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Rival_Lovers" title="Rival Lovers">Rival Lovers</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Theages" title="Theages">Theages</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Charmides_(dialogue)" title="Charmides (dialogue)">Charmides</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Laches_(dialogue)" title="Laches (dialogue)">Laches</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Lysis_(dialogue)" title="Lysis (dialogue)">Lysis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Euthydemus_(dialogue)" title="Euthydemus (dialogue)">Euthydemus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Protagoras_(dialogue)" title="Protagoras (dialogue)">Protagoras</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Gorgias_(dialogue)" title="Gorgias (dialogue)">Gorgias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Meno" title="Meno">Meno</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hippias_Major" title="Hippias Major">Hippias Major</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hippias_Minor" title="Hippias Minor">Hippias Minor</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Ion_(dialogue)" title="Ion (dialogue)">Ion</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Menexenus_(dialogue)" title="Menexenus (dialogue)">Menexenus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Clitophon_(dialogue)" title="Clitophon (dialogue)">Clitophon</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Republic_(Plato)" class="mw-redirect" title="The Republic (Plato)">Republic</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Timaeus_(dialogue)" title="Timaeus (dialogue)">Timaeus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Critias_(dialogue)" title="Critias (dialogue)">Critias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Minos_(dialogue)" title="Minos (dialogue)">Minos</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Laws_(dialogue)" title="Laws (dialogue)">Laws</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epinomis" title="Epinomis">Epinomis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epistles_(Plato)" title="Epistles (Plato)">Epistles</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Definitions_(Plato)" title="Definitions (Plato)">Definitions</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/On_Justice" title="On Justice">On Justice</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/On_Virtue" title="On Virtue">On Virtue</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Demodocus_(dialogue)" title="Demodocus (dialogue)">Demodocus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Sisyphus_(dialogue)" title="Sisyphus (dialogue)">Sisyphus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Halcyon_(dialogue)" title="Halcyon (dialogue)">Halcyon</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Eryxias_(dialogue)" title="Eryxias (dialogue)">Eryxias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Axiochus_(dialogue)" title="Axiochus (dialogue)">Axiochus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epigrams_(Plato)" title="Epigrams (Plato)">Epigrams</a></i></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Related articles</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Commentaries_on_Plato" title="Commentaries on Plato">Commentaries</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Platonic_Academy" title="Platonic Academy">The Academy in Athens</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_Platonism" title="Middle Platonism">Middle Platonism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neoplatonism" title="Neoplatonism">Neoplatonism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Allegorical_interpretations_of_Plato" title="Allegorical interpretations of Plato">Allegorical interpretations of Plato</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_unwritten_doctrines" title="Plato's unwritten doctrines">Plato's unwritten doctrines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pseudo-Platonica" title="Pseudo-Platonica">Pseudo-Platonica</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Related categories</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="CategoryTreeTag" data-ct-options="{"mode":20,"hideprefix":20,"showcount":false,"namespaces":false,"notranslations":false}"><div class="CategoryTreeSection"><div class="CategoryTreeItem"><span class="CategoryTreeBullet"><a class="CategoryTreeToggle" data-ct-title="Plato" aria-expanded="false"></a> </span> <bdi dir="ltr"><a href="/wiki/Category:Plato" title="Category:Plato">Plato</a></bdi></div><div class="CategoryTreeChildren" style="display:none"></div></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Socrates.png/10px-Socrates.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Socrates.png/15px-Socrates.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Socrates.png/21px-Socrates.png 2x" data-file-width="326" data-file-height="500" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Philosophy" title="Portal:Philosophy">Philosophy portal</a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Platonism" title="Template:Platonism"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Platonism" title="Template talk:Platonism"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Platonism" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Platonism"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The <i><b>Sophist</b></i> (<a href="/wiki/Greek_language" title="Greek language">Greek</a>: <span lang="el">Σοφιστής</span>; <a href="/wiki/Latin_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Latin language">Latin</a>: <i lang="la">Sophista</i><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>) is a <a href="/wiki/Plato#Works" title="Plato">Platonic dialogue</a> from the philosopher's late period, most likely written in 360 BC. In it the interlocutors, led by <a href="/wiki/Eleatic" class="mw-redirect" title="Eleatic">Eleatic</a> Stranger employ the <a href="/wiki/Diairesis" title="Diairesis">method of division</a> in order to classify and define the <a href="/wiki/Sophist" title="Sophist">sophist</a> and describe his essential attributes and differentia vis a vis the <a href="/wiki/Philosopher" class="mw-redirect" title="Philosopher">philosopher</a> and <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/statesman" class="extiw" title="wikt:statesman">statesman</a>. Like its sequel, the <i><a href="/wiki/Statesman_(dialogue)" title="Statesman (dialogue)">Statesman</a></i>, the dialogue is unusual in that <a href="/wiki/Socrates" title="Socrates">Socrates</a> is present but plays only a minor role. Instead, the <a href="/wiki/Eleatics" title="Eleatics">Eleatic</a> Stranger takes the lead in the discussion. Because Socrates is silent, it is difficult to attribute the views put forward by the Eleatic Stranger to Plato, beyond the difficulty inherent in taking any character to be an author's "mouthpiece". </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Background">Background</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sophist_(dialogue)&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The main objective of the dialogue is to identify what a <a href="/wiki/Sophist" title="Sophist">sophist</a> is and how a sophist differs from a philosopher and statesman. Because each seems distinguished by a particular form of knowledge, the dialogue continues some of the lines of inquiry pursued in the <a href="/wiki/Epistemological" class="mw-redirect" title="Epistemological">epistemological</a> dialogue, <i><a href="/wiki/Theaetetus_(dialogue)" title="Theaetetus (dialogue)">Theaetetus</a></i>, which is said to have taken place the day before. Because the <i>Sophist</i> treats these matters, it is often taken to shed light on <a href="/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Theory_of_Forms" class="mw-redirect" title="Theory of Forms">Theory of Forms</a> and is compared with the <i><a href="/wiki/Parmenides_(dialogue)" title="Parmenides (dialogue)">Parmenides</a></i>, which criticized what is often taken to be the theory of forms. </p><p>In <a href="/wiki/Cratylus_(dialogue)" title="Cratylus (dialogue)">Cratylus</a>, contemporary or slightly preceding the <a href="/wiki/Republic_(dialogue)" class="mw-redirect" title="Republic (dialogue)">Republic</a>, Plato poses the problem, decisive for the use of dialectics for cognitive purposes, of the relationship between name and thing, between word and reality. Thus the ‘Sophist’ has its major background in the <a href="/wiki/Cratylus_(dialogue)" title="Cratylus (dialogue)">Cratylus</a>. This dialogue is resolved in a contrast between the thesis of Hermogenes, who considers the name a simple sequence of sounds conventionally chosen to refer to an object, and the thesis of Cratylus, a pupil of the old <a href="/wiki/Heraclitus" title="Heraclitus">Heraclitus</a>, who supported the full expression of the essence of the “nominatum” in the name, and who considered the names as expressions forged by an Onomaturge, capable of expressing the essence of the thing named. Following this research, all the ‘Sophist’ is dedicated to find the right definition of the name “sophist”. </p><p>Some contemporary scholars, based on their orientations, have argued that in the <a href="/wiki/Cratylus_(dialogue)" title="Cratylus (dialogue)">Cratylus</a> Plato gave his assent now to the thesis of Hermogenes, now to the thesis of Cratylus. <a href="/wiki/G%C3%A9rard_Genette" title="Gérard Genette">Gérard Genette</a>, in the work ‘Mimologique. Voyage en Cratilie’ (1976), starts from Plato's speech to argue the idea of arbitrariness of the sign: according to this thesis, already supported by the great linguist <a href="/wiki/Ferdinand_de_Saussure" title="Ferdinand de Saussure">Ferdinand de Saussure</a>, the connection between language and objects is not natural, but culturally determined. The ideas developed in the <a href="/wiki/Cratylus_(dialogue)" title="Cratylus (dialogue)">Cratylus</a>, although dated, have historically been an important point of reference in the development of <a href="/wiki/Linguistics" title="Linguistics">Linguistics</a>. On the basis of the <a href="/wiki/Cratylus_(dialogue)" title="Cratylus (dialogue)">Cratylus</a>, <a href="/w/index.php?title=Gaetano_Licata&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Gaetano Licata (page does not exist)">Gaetano Licata</a> has reconstructed, in the essay ‘Plato’s theory of language. Perspectives on the concept of truth’ (2007, Il Melangolo), the relationship between the <a href="/wiki/Cratylus_(dialogue)" title="Cratylus (dialogue)">Cratylus</a> and the ‘Sophist’ and the Platonic conception of semantics, according to which names have a natural link, (an essential foundation) with their "nominatum". This author argues that Plato accepts Cratylus' thesis. Finally, the concept of language and of “true discourse” of <a href="/wiki/Cratylus_(dialogue)" title="Cratylus (dialogue)">Cratylus</a> will be very important for the study of <a href="/wiki/Diairesis" title="Diairesis">diairetic</a> dialectic in the ‘Sophist’. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Introduction">Introduction</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sophist_(dialogue)&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Introduction"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>This dialogue takes place a day after Plato's <i>Theaetetus</i> in an unspecified gymnasium in <a href="/wiki/Ancient_Athens" class="mw-redirect" title="Ancient Athens">Athens</a>. The participants are <a href="/wiki/Socrates" title="Socrates">Socrates</a>, who plays a minor role, the elder mathematician <a href="/wiki/Theodorus_of_Cyrene" title="Theodorus of Cyrene">Theodorus</a>, the young mathematician <a href="/wiki/Theaetetus_(mathematician)" title="Theaetetus (mathematician)">Theaetetus</a>, and a visitor from <a href="/wiki/Velia" title="Velia">Elea</a>, the hometown of <a href="/wiki/Parmenides" title="Parmenides">Parmenides</a> and <a href="/wiki/Zeno_of_Elea" title="Zeno of Elea">Zeno</a>, who is often referred to in English translations as the Eleatic Stranger or the Eleatic Visitor. Other young mathematicians are also silently present. The dialogue begins when Socrates arrives and asks the Eleatic Stranger, whether in his homeland, the sophist, statesperson, and philosopher are considered to be one kind or three. The Eleatic Stranger responds that they are three and then sets about to give an account of the sophist through dialectical exchange with Theaetetus. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Method_of_definition_(216a–236d)"><span id="Method_of_definition_.28216a.E2.80.93236d.29"></span>Method of definition (216a–236d)</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sophist_(dialogue)&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Method of definition (216a–236d)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Diairesis" title="Diairesis">Diairesis</a></div> <p>The Eleatic Stranger pursues a different definition than features in Plato's other dialogues by using a model, comparing the model with the target kind, collection, and division (<i>diairesis</i>) of the collected kinds. At first, he starts using a mundane model (a fisherman), which shares some qualities in common with the target kind (the sophist). This common quality is the certain expertise (<i><a href="/wiki/Techne" title="Techne">techne</a></i>) in one subject. Then through the method of collection of different kinds (farming, caring for mortal bodies, for things that are put together or fabricated and imitation), he tries to bring them together into one kind, which he calls <i>productive art</i>. The same is true with the collection of learning, recognition, commerce, combat and hunting, which can be grouped into the kind of <i>acquisitive art</i>. </p><p>After these two collections, he proceeds to the division of the types of expertise into <i>production</i> and <i>acquisition</i>. Then he tries to find out to which of these two sub-kinds the fisherman belongs (classification) case, the acquisitive kind of expertise. By following the same method, namely, diairesis through collection, he divides the acquisitive art into <i>possession taking</i> and <i>exchanging goods</i>, to which sophistry belongs. The sophist is a kind of merchant. After many successive collections and divisions he finally arrives at the definition of the model (fisherman). Throughout this process the Eleatic Stranger classifies many kinds of activities (hunting, aquatic-hunting, fishing, strike-hunting). </p><p>After the verbal explanation of the model (definition), he tries to find out what the model and the target kind share in common (sameness) and what differentiates them (difference). Through this comparison, and after having been aware of the different kinds and sub-kinds, he can classify sophistry also among the other branches of the ‘tree’ of division of expertise as follows: "1. production, hunting by persuasion and money-earning, 2. acquisition, soul wholesaling, 3. soul retailing, retailing things that others make, 4. soul retailing, retailing things that he makes himself, 5. possession taking, competition, money-making expertise in debating." </p><p>Throughout the process of comparison of the distinguished kinds through his method of collection, the Eleatic Stranger discovers some attributes in relation to which the kinds can be divided (difference in relation to something). These are similar to the <i><a href="/wiki/Categories_(Aristotle)" title="Categories (Aristotle)">Categories</a></i> of <a href="/wiki/Aristotle" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a>, so to say: quantity, quality, relation, location, time, position, end, etc. </p><p>After having failed to define sophistry, the Stranger attempts a final diairesis through the collection of the five definitions of sophistry. Since these five definitions share in common one quality (sameness), which is the <i>imitation</i>, he finally qualifies sophistry as <i>imitation art</i>. Following the division of the imitation art in <i>copy-making and appearance-making</i>, he discovers that sophistry falls under the <i>appearance-making art</i>, namely the Sophist imitates the wise man. </p><p>The sophist is presented negatively, but he can be said to be someone who merely pretends to have knowledge or to be a purveyor of false knowledge only if <a href="/wiki/Right_opinion" class="mw-redirect" title="Right opinion">right opinion</a> and false opinion can be distinguished. It seems impossible to say that the sophist presents things that are not as though they were, or passes off "non-being" as "being," since this would suggest that non-being exists, or that non-existence exists. Otherwise, the sophist couldn't "do" anything with it. The Stranger suggests that it is Parmenides' doctrine of being and non-being that is at the root of this problem, and so proceeds to criticize Parmenides' ideas, namely that "it is impossible that things that are not are." </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Puzzles_of_being_and_not-being,_great_kinds_(236d–264b)"><span id="Puzzles_of_being_and_not-being.2C_great_kinds_.28236d.E2.80.93264b.29"></span>Puzzles of being and not-being, great kinds (236d–264b)</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sophist_(dialogue)&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Puzzles of being and not-being, great kinds (236d–264b)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The Eleatic Stranger, before proceeding to the final definition of sophistry, has to make clear the concepts that he used throughout the procedure of definition. In other words, he has to clarify what is the nature of the <a href="/wiki/Being" class="mw-redirect" title="Being">Being</a> (<i>that which is</i>), Not-Being, sameness (identity), difference, motion (change), and rest, and how they are interrelated. Therefore, he examines <a href="/wiki/Parmenides" title="Parmenides">Parmenides</a>’ notion in comparison with <a href="/wiki/Empedocles" title="Empedocles">Empedocles</a> and <a href="/wiki/Heraclitus" title="Heraclitus">Heraclitus</a>’ in order to find out whether Being is identical with <i>change</i> or <i>rest</i>, or both. </p><p>The conclusion is that rest and change both "are," that is, both are beings; Parmenides had said that only rest "is." Furthermore, <i>Being</i> is a "kind" that all existing things share in common. <i>Sameness</i> is a "kind" that all things which belong to the same kind or genus share with reference to a certain attribute, and due to which diaeresis through collection is possible. <i>Difference</i> is a "kind" that makes things of the same genus distinct from one another; therefore it enables us to proceed to their division. Finally, so-called <i>Not-Being</i> is not the opposite of Being, but simply different from it. Therefore, the negation of Being is identified with "difference." Not-being is difference, not the opposite of Being. </p><p>Following these conclusions, the true statement can be distinguished from the false one, since each statement consists of a verb and a name. The name refers to the subject, and because a thought or a speech is always about something, and it cannot be about nothing (<i>Non-Being</i>). The verb is the sign of the action that the subject performs or the action being performed to or on the subject. When the verb states something that is about the subject, namely one of his properties, then the statement is true. While when the verb states something that is <i>different</i> (<i>it is not</i>) from the properties of the subject, then the statement is false, but is not attributing being to non-being. </p><p>It is plausible then, that ‘<i>things that are not (appearing and seeming) somehow are</i>’, and so it is also plausible that the sophist produces false appearances and imitates the wise man. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Final_definition_(264b–268d)"><span id="Final_definition_.28264b.E2.80.93268d.29"></span>Final definition (264b–268d)</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sophist_(dialogue)&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Final definition (264b–268d)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>After having solved all these puzzles, that is to say the interrelation between being, not-being, difference and negation, as well as the possibility of the "appearing and seeming but not really being," the Eleatic Stranger can finally proceed to define sophistry. "Sophistry is a productive art, human, of the imitation kind, copy-making, of the appearance-making kind, uninformed and insincere in the form of contrary-speech-producing art." </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Texts_and_translations">Texts and translations</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sophist_(dialogue)&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Texts and translations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><i>Plato: Theaetetus, Sophist.</i> Greek with translation by Harold N. Fowler. Loeb Classical Library 123. Harvard Univ. Press (originally published 1921). <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0674991378" title="Special:BookSources/978-0674991378">978-0674991378</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674991378">HUP listing</a></li> <li>Fowler translation at <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0172%3Atext%3DSoph.">Perseus</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/sophist.html"><i>Sophist</i></a>. Translated by <a href="/wiki/Benjamin_Jowett" title="Benjamin Jowett">Benjamin Jowett</a> <ul><li>Jowett translation also available at <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/plato/dialogues/benjamin-jowett">StandardEbooks</a></li></ul></li> <li>Plato. <i>Opera</i>, volume I. Oxford Classical Texts. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0198145691" title="Special:BookSources/978-0198145691">978-0198145691</a></li> <li>Plato. <i>Complete Works.</i> Hackett, 1997. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0872203495" title="Special:BookSources/978-0872203495">978-0872203495</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sophist_(dialogue)&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Henri_Estienne" title="Henri Estienne">Henri Estienne</a> (ed.), <i>Platonis opera quae extant omnia</i>, Vol. 1, 1578, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/stream/platonisoperaqua01plat#page/216/mode/2up">p. 217</a>.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sophist_(dialogue)&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Ackrill, J. L. 1997. <i>Essays on Plato and Aristotle.</i> Oxford: Oxford University Press.</li> <li>Ambuel, David. 2007. <i>Image and Paradigm in Plato's Sophist</i>. Parmenides Publishing. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781930972049" title="Special:BookSources/9781930972049">9781930972049</a></li> <li>Bakalis, N. 2005. <i>Handbook of Greek Philosophy: From Thales to the Stoics Analysis and Fragments</i> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-4120-4843-5" title="Special:BookSources/1-4120-4843-5">1-4120-4843-5</a></li> <li>Benardete, S. 1986. <i>Plato's Sophist. Part II of The Being of the Beautiful.</i> Chicago: Chicago University Press.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/F._M._Cornford" title="F. M. Cornford">Cornford, F. M.</a> 1935. <i>Plato's Theory of Knowledge.</i> London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.</li> <li>Eck, J. van. 2002. “Not Being and Difference: on Plato's Sophist 256d5-258e3." <i>Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy</i> 23: 63-84.</li> <li>Frede, M. 1992. “Plato's Sophist on False Statements.” In <i>The Cambridge Companion to Plato.</i> Edited by Richard Kraut, 397-424. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</li> <li>Frede, M. 1996. “The Literary Form of the Sophist.” In <i>Form and Argument in Late Plato</i> Edited by C. Gill and M. M. McCabe, 135-151. Oxford: Clarendon Press.</li> <li>Gill, C. and M. M. McCabe eds. 1996. <i>Form and Argument in Late Plato.</i> Oxford: Clarendon Press.</li> <li>Harte, V. 2002. <i>Plato on Parts and Wholes: The Metaphysics of Structure</i>, Oxford: Clarendon Press.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Martin_Heidegger" title="Martin Heidegger">Heidegger, M.</a> 1997. Plato's Sophist. Translated by Richard Rojcewicz and André Schuwer. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press.</li> <li>Moravcsik, J. M. E. 1992. <i>Plato and Platonism.</i> Oxford: Blackwell.</li> <li>Nehamas, A. 1982. “Participation and Predication in Plato's Later Thought.” <i>Review of Metaphysics</i> 26: 343-74.</li> <li>Gaetano Licata, <i>Teoria platonica del linguaggio. Prospettive sul concetto di verità</i>, Il Melangolo, Genova 2007.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Sallis" title="John Sallis">Sallis, J.</a> 1996. <i>Being and Logos: Reading the Platonic Dialogues.</i> Bloomington: Indiana University Press.</li> <li>Plato. 1996. <i>Plato's Sophist. The Professor of Wisdom: With Translation, Introduction and Glossary by Eva Brann, Peter Kalkavage, Eric Salem.</i> Newburyport: Focus Publishing.</li> <li>Stenzel, J. 1940 [1931]. <i>Plato's Method of Dialectic.</i> Translated and Edited by D. J. Allan. Oxford: Clarendon Press.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gregory_Vlastos" title="Gregory Vlastos">Vlastos, G.</a> 1973. “An Ambiguity in the Sophist”, in <i>Platonic Studies</i> Edited by G. Vlastos, 270-322. Princeton: Princeton University Press.</li> <li>White, N. P. 1993. <i>Plato: Sophist</i>, Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett.</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFZaks2023" class="citation book cs1">Zaks, Nicolas (2023). <i>Apparences et dialectique: un commentaire du Sophiste de Platon</i>. Leiden Boston (Mass.): Brill. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9789004533066" title="Special:BookSources/9789004533066"><bdi>9789004533066</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Apparences+et+dialectique%3A+un+commentaire+du+Sophiste+de+Platon&rft.place=Leiden+Boston+%28Mass.%29&rft.pub=Brill&rft.date=2023&rft.isbn=9789004533066&rft.aulast=Zaks&rft.aufirst=Nicolas&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASophist+%28dialogue%29" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sophist_(dialogue)&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style 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srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/57px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/76px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="410" data-file-height="430" /></a></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikisource" title="Wikisource">Wikisource</a> has original text related to this article: <div style="margin-left: 10px;"><b><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Sophist" class="extiw" title="wikisource:Sophist"><i>Sophist</i></a></b></div></div></div> </div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/plato/dialogues/benjamin-jowett"><i>Sophist</i>, in a collection of Plato's Dialogues</a> at <a href="/wiki/Standard_Ebooks" title="Standard Ebooks">Standard Ebooks</a></li> <li>Greek text of the dialogue at <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0171%3Atext%3DSoph.">Perseus</a></li> <li><span class="skin-invert-image" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Speaker_Icon.svg/15px-Speaker_Icon.svg.png" decoding="async" width="15" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Speaker_Icon.svg/23px-Speaker_Icon.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Speaker_Icon.svg/30px-Speaker_Icon.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="500" /></span></span> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://librivox.org/search?title=Sophist&author=Plato&reader=&keywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=catalog_date&search_page=1&search_form=advanced"><i>Sophist</i>, english translation by Benjamin Jowett</a> public domain audiobook at <a href="/wiki/LibriVox" title="LibriVox">LibriVox</a></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGill" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">Gill, Mary Louise. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-sophstate/">"Method and Metaphysics in Plato's <i>Sophist</i> and <i>Statesman</i>"</a>. In <a href="/wiki/Edward_N._Zalta" title="Edward N. Zalta">Zalta, Edward N.</a> (ed.). <i><a href="/wiki/Stanford_Encyclopedia_of_Philosophy" title="Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy">Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</a></i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Method+and+Metaphysics+in+Plato%27s+Sophist+and+Statesman&rft.btitle=Stanford+Encyclopedia+of+Philosophy&rft.aulast=Gill&rft.aufirst=Mary+Louise&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fplato.stanford.edu%2Fentries%2Fplato-sophstate%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASophist+%28dialogue%29" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ontology.co/plato-sophist.htm">Semantics, Predication, Truth and Falsehood in Plato's <i>Sophist</i></a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ontology.co/biblio/plato-sophist-biblio-one.htm">Plato's <i>Sophist</i>, Annotated Bibliography of the studies in English</a></li></ul> <div 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.navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Socrates296" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="3"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Socrates_navbox" title="Template:Socrates navbox"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Socrates_navbox" title="Template talk:Socrates navbox"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Socrates_navbox" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Socrates navbox"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Socrates296" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Socrates" title="Socrates">Socrates</a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow hlist" colspan="3"><div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bibliography_of_Socrates" title="Bibliography of Socrates">Bibliography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_cultural_depictions_of_Socrates" title="List of cultural depictions of Socrates">Cultural depictions</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Life</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Trial_of_Socrates" title="Trial of Socrates">Trial of Socrates</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Socratic_problem" title="Socratic problem">Socratic problem</a></li></ul> </div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="6" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px;background:#f8f8f8"><div><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Socrates_Pio-Clementino_Inv314.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Socrates_Pio-Clementino_Inv314.jpg/100px-Socrates_Pio-Clementino_Inv314.jpg" decoding="async" width="100" height="134" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Socrates_Pio-Clementino_Inv314.jpg/150px-Socrates_Pio-Clementino_Inv314.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Socrates_Pio-Clementino_Inv314.jpg/200px-Socrates_Pio-Clementino_Inv314.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1300" data-file-height="1740" /></a></span></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Concepts</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Gadfly_(philosophy_and_social_science)" title="Gadfly (philosophy and social science)">Social gadfly</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Socratic_dialogue" title="Socratic dialogue">Socratic dialogue</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moral_intellectualism" title="Moral intellectualism">Socratic intellectualism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Irony" title="Irony">Socratic irony</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Socratic_method" title="Socratic method">Socratic method</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/I_know_that_I_know_nothing" title="I know that I know nothing">Socratic paradox</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Socratic_questioning" title="Socratic questioning">Socratic questioning</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Phrases</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li>"<a href="/wiki/I_know_that_I_know_nothing" title="I know that I know nothing">I know that I know nothing</a>"</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/The_unexamined_life_is_not_worth_living" title="The unexamined life is not worth living">The unexamined life is not worth living</a>"</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Family</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Sophroniscus" title="Sophroniscus">Sophroniscus</a> (father)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phaenarete" title="Phaenarete">Phaenarete</a> (mother)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xanthippe" title="Xanthippe">Xanthippe</a> (wife)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lamprocles" title="Lamprocles">Lamprocles</a> (son)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Menexenus" title="Menexenus">Menexenus</a> (son)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Myrto" title="Myrto">Myrto</a> (wife)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Works<br />that<br />include<br />Socrates</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Art</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Double_Herm_of_Socrates_and_Seneca" title="Double Herm of Socrates and Seneca">Double Herm of Socrates and Seneca</a></i> (3rd-century sculpture)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Death_of_Socrates" title="The Death of Socrates">The Death of Socrates</a></i> (1787 painting)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Socrates_(sculpture)" title="Socrates (sculpture)">Socrates</a></i> (1950 sculpture)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Stage</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Clouds" title="The Clouds">The Clouds</a></i> (423 BC play)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Der_geduldige_Socrates" title="Der geduldige Socrates">Der geduldige Socrates</a></i> (1721 opera)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Socrates_(Voltaire)" title="Socrates (Voltaire)">Socrates</a></i> (1759 play)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Socrate" title="Socrate">Socrate</a></i> (1919 oratorio)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Socrates_on_Trial" title="Socrates on Trial">Socrates on Trial</a></i> (2007 play)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Literature</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/De_genio_Socratis" title="De genio Socratis">De genio Socratis</a></i> (1st-century essay)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/On_the_Concept_of_Irony_with_Continual_Reference_to_Socrates" title="On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates">On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates</a></i> (1841 thesis)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Plot_to_Save_Socrates" title="The Plot to Save Socrates">The Plot to Save Socrates</a></i> (2006 novel)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Serenade_after_Plato%27s_%22Symposium%22" title="Serenade after Plato's "Symposium"">Serenade after Plato's "Symposium"</a></i> (1954 serenade)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Barefoot_in_Athens" title="Barefoot in Athens">Barefoot in Athens</a></i> (1966 film)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Socrates_(film)" class="mw-redirect" title="Socrates (film)">Socrates</a></i> (1971 film)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_speakers_in_Plato%27s_dialogues" title="List of speakers in Plato's dialogues">Dialogues</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Plato</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Apology_(Plato)" title="Apology (Plato)">Apology</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Axiochus_(dialogue)" title="Axiochus (dialogue)">Axiochus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Charmides_(dialogue)" title="Charmides (dialogue)">Charmides</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Clitophon_(dialogue)" title="Clitophon (dialogue)">Clitophon</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Cratylus_(dialogue)" title="Cratylus (dialogue)">Cratylus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Critias_(dialogue)" title="Critias (dialogue)">Critias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Crito" title="Crito">Crito</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Demodocus_(dialogue)" title="Demodocus (dialogue)">Demodocus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epinomis" title="Epinomis">Epinomis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Eryxias_(dialogue)" title="Eryxias (dialogue)">Eryxias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Euthydemus_(dialogue)" title="Euthydemus (dialogue)">Euthydemus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Euthyphro" title="Euthyphro">Euthyphro</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/First_Alcibiades" title="First Alcibiades">First Alcibiades</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Gorgias_(dialogue)" title="Gorgias (dialogue)">Gorgias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hipparchus_(dialogue)" title="Hipparchus (dialogue)">Hipparchus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hippias_Major" title="Hippias Major">Hippias Major</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hippias_Minor" title="Hippias Minor">Hippias Minor</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Ion_(dialogue)" title="Ion (dialogue)">Ion</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Laches_(dialogue)" title="Laches (dialogue)">Laches</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Lysis_(dialogue)" title="Lysis (dialogue)">Lysis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Menexenus_(dialogue)" title="Menexenus (dialogue)">Menexenus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Meno" title="Meno">Meno</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Minos_(dialogue)" title="Minos (dialogue)">Minos</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/On_Justice" title="On Justice">On Justice</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/On_Virtue" title="On Virtue">On Virtue</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Parmenides_(dialogue)" title="Parmenides (dialogue)">Parmenides</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Phaedo" title="Phaedo">Phaedo</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Phaedrus_(dialogue)" title="Phaedrus (dialogue)">Phaedrus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Philebus" title="Philebus">Philebus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Protagoras_(dialogue)" title="Protagoras (dialogue)">Protagoras</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Republic_(Plato)" title="Republic (Plato)">Republic</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Rival_Lovers" title="Rival Lovers">Rival Lovers</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Second_Alcibiades" title="Second Alcibiades">Second Alcibiades</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Sisyphus_(dialogue)" title="Sisyphus (dialogue)">Sisyphus</a></i></li> <li><i><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Sophist</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Statesman_(dialogue)" title="Statesman (dialogue)">Statesman</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Symposium_(Plato)" title="Symposium (Plato)">Symposium</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Theaetetus_(dialogue)" title="Theaetetus (dialogue)">Theaetetus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Theages" title="Theages">Theages</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Timaeus_(dialogue)" title="Timaeus (dialogue)">Timaeus</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Xenophon</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Apology_(Xenophon)" title="Apology (Xenophon)">Apology</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Memorabilia_(Xenophon)" title="Memorabilia (Xenophon)">Memorabilia</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Oeconomicus" title="Oeconomicus">Oeconomicus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Symposium_(Xenophon)" title="Symposium (Xenophon)">Symposium</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Halcyon_(dialogue)" title="Halcyon (dialogue)">Halcyon</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Codex_Vaticanus_Graecus_64" title="Codex Vaticanus Graecus 64">Socratic Letters</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Related</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Euthyphro_dilemma" title="Euthyphro dilemma">Euthyphro dilemma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Form_of_the_Good" title="Form of the Good">Form of the Good</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Peritrope" title="Peritrope">Peritrope</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religious_skepticism" title="Religious skepticism">Religious skepticism</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="3"><div><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" 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rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Plato_navbox" title="Template:Plato navbox"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Plato_navbox" title="Template talk:Plato navbox"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Plato_navbox" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Plato navbox"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Plato135" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Works</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Apology_(Plato)" title="Apology (Plato)">Apology</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Charmides_(dialogue)" title="Charmides (dialogue)">Charmides</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Clitophon_(dialogue)" title="Clitophon (dialogue)">Clitophon</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Cratylus_(dialogue)" title="Cratylus (dialogue)">Cratylus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Critias_(dialogue)" title="Critias (dialogue)">Critias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Crito" title="Crito">Crito</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Euthydemus_(dialogue)" title="Euthydemus (dialogue)">Euthydemus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Euthyphro" title="Euthyphro">Euthyphro</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/First_Alcibiades" title="First Alcibiades">First Alcibiades</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Gorgias_(dialogue)" title="Gorgias (dialogue)">Gorgias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hippias_Major" title="Hippias Major">Hippias Major</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hippias_Minor" title="Hippias Minor">Hippias Minor</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Ion_(dialogue)" title="Ion (dialogue)">Ion</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Laches_(dialogue)" title="Laches (dialogue)">Laches</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Laws_(dialogue)" title="Laws (dialogue)">Laws</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Lysis_(dialogue)" title="Lysis (dialogue)">Lysis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Menexenus_(dialogue)" title="Menexenus (dialogue)">Menexenus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Meno" title="Meno">Meno</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Parmenides_(dialogue)" title="Parmenides (dialogue)">Parmenides</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Phaedo" title="Phaedo">Phaedo</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Phaedrus_(dialogue)" title="Phaedrus (dialogue)">Phaedrus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Philebus" title="Philebus">Philebus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Protagoras_(dialogue)" title="Protagoras (dialogue)">Protagoras</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Republic_(Plato)" title="Republic (Plato)">Republic</a></i></li> <li><i><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Sophist</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Statesman_(dialogue)" title="Statesman (dialogue)">Statesman</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Symposium_(Plato)" title="Symposium (Plato)">Symposium</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Theaetetus_(dialogue)" title="Theaetetus (dialogue)">Theaetetus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Timaeus_(dialogue)" title="Timaeus (dialogue)">Timaeus</a></i></li></ul> </div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th id="Of_doubtfulauthenticity27" scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Of doubtful<br />authenticity</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Axiochus_(dialogue)" title="Axiochus (dialogue)">Axiochus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Definitions_(Plato)" title="Definitions (Plato)">Definitions</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Demodocus_(dialogue)" title="Demodocus (dialogue)">Demodocus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epigrams_(Plato)" title="Epigrams (Plato)">Epigrams</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epinomis" title="Epinomis">Epinomis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Epistles_(Plato)" title="Epistles (Plato)">Epistles</a></i> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Seventh_Letter" title="Seventh Letter">Seventh Letter</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Eryxias_(dialogue)" title="Eryxias (dialogue)">Eryxias</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Halcyon_(dialogue)" title="Halcyon (dialogue)">Halcyon</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hipparchus_(dialogue)" title="Hipparchus (dialogue)">Hipparchus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Minos_(dialogue)" title="Minos (dialogue)">Minos</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/On_Justice" title="On Justice">On Justice</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/On_Virtue" title="On Virtue">On Virtue</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Rival_Lovers" title="Rival Lovers">Rival Lovers</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Second_Alcibiades" title="Second Alcibiades">Second Alcibiades</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Sisyphus_(dialogue)" title="Sisyphus (dialogue)">Sisyphus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Theages" title="Theages">Theages</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Platonism" title="Platonism">Philosophy</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Euthyphro_dilemma" title="Euthyphro dilemma">Euthyphro dilemma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Platonic_love" title="Platonic love">Platonic love</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cardinal_virtues" title="Cardinal virtues">Cardinal virtues</a> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Sophrosyne" title="Sophrosyne">Sophrosyne</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Platonic_epistemology" title="Platonic epistemology">Platonic epistemology</a> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Anamnesis_(philosophy)" title="Anamnesis (philosophy)">Amanesis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Peritrope" title="Peritrope">Peritrope</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Divine_madness" title="Divine madness">Theia mania</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Theory_of_forms" title="Theory of forms">Theory of Forms</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Form_of_the_Good" title="Form of the Good">Form of the Good</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_theory_of_soul" title="Plato's theory of soul">Theory of soul</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_political_philosophy" title="Plato's political philosophy">Plato's political philosophy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Philosopher_king" title="Philosopher king">Philosopher king</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Platonic_solid" title="Platonic solid">Platonic solid</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Anima_mundi" title="Anima mundi">Anima mundi</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Demiurge" title="Demiurge">Demiurge</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hyperuranion" title="Hyperuranion">Hyperuranion</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Allegorical_interpretations_of_Plato" title="Allegorical interpretations of Plato">Allegories<br />and metaphors</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Atlantis" title="Atlantis">Atlantis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ring_of_Gyges" title="Ring of Gyges">Ring of Gyges</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Allegory_of_the_cave" title="Allegory of the cave">The Cave</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Analogy_of_the_divided_line" title="Analogy of the divided line">The Divided Line</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Analogy_of_the_Sun" title="Analogy of the Sun">The Sun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ship_of_State" title="Ship of State">Ship of State</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Myth_of_Er" title="Myth of Er">Myth of Er</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Life_of_Plato" title="Life of Plato">Life</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Platonic_Academy" title="Platonic Academy">The Academy in Athens</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Socratic_problem" title="Socratic problem">Socratic problem</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_speakers_in_Plato%27s_dialogues" title="List of speakers in Plato's dialogues">List of speakers in Plato's dialogues</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Legacy</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_unwritten_doctrines" title="Plato's unwritten doctrines">Unwritten doctrines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_manuscripts_of_Plato%27s_dialogues" title="List of manuscripts of Plato's dialogues">List of manuscripts of Plato's dialogues</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cultural_influence_of_Plato%27s_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="Cultural influence of Plato's Republic">Cultural influence of Plato's <i>Republic</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neoplatonism_and_Gnosticism" title="Neoplatonism and Gnosticism">Neoplatonism and Gnosticism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Platonism_in_the_Renaissance" title="Platonism in the Renaissance">Platonism in the Renaissance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_Platonism" title="Middle Platonism">Middle Platonism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Commentaries_on_Plato" title="Commentaries on Plato">Commentaries</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neoplatonism" title="Neoplatonism">Neoplatonism</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Neoplatonism_and_Christianity" title="Neoplatonism and Christianity">and Christianity</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oxyrhynchus_Papyri#Greek" title="Oxyrhynchus Papyri">Oxyrhynchus Papyri</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Papyrus_Oxyrhynchus_23" title="Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 23">23</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Papyrus_Oxyrhynchus_24" title="Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 24">24</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Papyrus_Oxyrhynchus_228" title="Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 228">228</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Papyrus_Oxyrhynchus_229" title="Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 229">229</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato%27s_Dream" title="Plato's Dream">Plato's Dream</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Poitier_Meets_Plato" title="Poitier Meets Plato">Poitier Meets Plato</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1038841319">.mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px 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