Plato

Socrates on Motivation for Virtue

Soc. Evils, Theodorus, can never pass away; for there must always remain something which is antagonistic to good. Having no place among the gods in heaven, of necessity they hover around the mortal nature, and this earthly sphere. Wherefore we ought to fly away from earth to heaven as quickly as we can; and to […]

Socrates on Motivation for Virtue Read More »

Mere Disputation and Dialectic

The vox Protagorus from Plato’s Theaetetus: But I must beg you to put fair questions: for there is great inconsistency in saying that you have a zeal for virtue, and then always behaving unfairly in argument. The unfairness of which I complain is that you do not distinguish between mere disputation and dialectic: the disputer may trip up

Mere Disputation and Dialectic Read More »

The Profession of Socrates: The Art of Midwifery

Soc. “Well, my art of midwifery is in most respects like theirs; but differs, in that I attend men and not women; and look after their souls when they are in labour, and not after their bodies: and the triumph of my art is in thoroughly examining whether the thought which the mind of the young

The Profession of Socrates: The Art of Midwifery Read More »