Plato · c. 428/427-348/347 BC
Theaetetus
ΘεαίτητοςIn the Theaetetus Socrates, in conversation with the geometer Theodorus and the young Theaetetus, asks what knowledge is. He acts as a midwife to Theaetetus' answers: knowledge as perception, which brings in Protagoras and the doctrine of flux, then knowledge as true opinion, with the puzzle of false opinion, the wax block and the aviary, and finally knowledge as true opinion with an account. On the way he tells how the philosopher is laughed at like Thales, who fell into a well while watching the stars. The dialogue ends without an answer, as Socrates leaves to meet the indictment of Meletus.
Contents · 19 passages
- 142a–144eEuclides and Terpsion: the written dialogue; Theodorus introduces Theaetetus1261 words
- 145a–147eWhat is knowledge? Examples are not an answer1322 words
- 148a–150eTheaetetus' roots; Socrates the midwife1455 words
- 151b–153eFirst definition: knowledge is perception; Protagoras and the doctrine of flux1456 words
- 154a–157ePerception and becoming: the dice and the theory of motions2035 words
- 158b–161eDreams and madness; Theaetetus' child is examined2112 words
- 162b–165eProtagoras' defence begins; memory and the one-eyed man1976 words
- 166a–168eSocrates answers for Protagoras: the wise man changes what seems to be1553 words
- 169a–172eProtagoras refutes himself; the laws of cities and the limits of the doctrine2102 words
- 173b–176eThe philosopher and the lawyer; Thales and the Thracian maid; becoming like God1876 words
- 177a–179eThe two patterns; the useful and the future1451 words
- 180a–183eHeracleitus and the followers of flux1964 words
- 184a–186eThe soul perceives through the senses; being and the common terms1544 words
- 187a–190eSecond definition: knowledge as true opinion; thinking as the soul's dialogue2082 words
- 191a–195eFalse opinion: the wax block and the confusions of memory2594 words
- 196a–200eFive and seven: the aviary of knowledge2417 words
- 201a–203eThird definition: true opinion with an account; Socrates' dream of letters1456 words
- 204a–206eSyllables and letters: the whole and its parts1392 words
- 207a–210dThree senses of an account; the end without an answer1954 words
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English translation by Harold North Fowler (1921). Original text: Harold North Fowler (trans.), Plato VII: Theaetetus, Sophist, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1921; Greek text: John Burnet, Platonis Opera, Oxford Classical Texts (as digitised by Perseus).
Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.
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