Cratylus is a philosophical dialogue written by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. The dialogue is named after Cratylus, a disciple of Heraclitus, who believed that everything is in a constant state of flux and that language is no exception. The dialogue focuses on the nature of language and its relationship to reality.The dialogue begins with Socrates meeting with Hermogenes and Cratylus. Hermogenes believes that names are arbitrarily assigned to things, while Cratylus believes that names are inherently connected to the ...
Read More
Cratylus is a philosophical dialogue written by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. The dialogue is named after Cratylus, a disciple of Heraclitus, who believed that everything is in a constant state of flux and that language is no exception. The dialogue focuses on the nature of language and its relationship to reality.The dialogue begins with Socrates meeting with Hermogenes and Cratylus. Hermogenes believes that names are arbitrarily assigned to things, while Cratylus believes that names are inherently connected to the nature of the things they represent. Socrates engages in a dialogue with both of them, exploring the nature of language and its relationship to reality.Throughout the dialogue, Socrates argues that language is not arbitrary, but rather has a natural connection to the things it represents. He uses examples from nature to illustrate his point, such as the fact that a bee is naturally suited to make honey, just as a person is naturally suited to use language to communicate.The dialogue also explores the idea of the correctness of language, with Socrates arguing that some words are more correct than others in their representation of reality. He uses examples from mythology and religion to illustrate this point.Overall, Cratylus is a philosophical exploration of the nature of language and its relationship to reality. It is a thought-provoking dialogue that continues to be studied and debated by scholars and philosophers today.HERMOGENES: I should explain to you, Socrates, that our friend Cratylus has been arguing about names; he says that they are natural and not conventional; not a portion of the human voice which men agree to use; but that there is a truth or correctness in them, which is the same for Hellenes as for barbarians. Whereupon I ask him, whether his own name of Cratylus is a true name or not, and he answers 'Yes.'This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
Read Less
