Other editions of book Theaetetus

"Theaetetus" by Plato (translated by Benjamin Jowett). Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

The Classic Greek Philosopher Plato is one of the most important and recognized western philosophers to exert influence in both historic and modern foundations of politics, ethics, metaphysics and epistemology. His work lay the foundation of western philosophy and science. We have formatted the book for an easy reading experience if you enjoy historic classic literary work.

Some dialogues of Plato are of so various a character that their relation to the other dialogues cannot be determined with any degree of certainty. The Theaetetus, like the Parmenides, has points of similarity both with his earlier and his later writings. The perfection of style, the humour, the dramatic interest, the complexity of structure, the fertility of illustration, the shifting of the points of view, are characteristic of his best period of authorship. The vain search, the negative conclusion, the figure of the midwives, the constant profession of ignorance on the part of Socrates, also bear the stamp of the early dialogues, in which the original Socrates is not yet Platonized. Had we no other indications, we should be disposed to range the Theaetetus with the Apology and the Phaedrus, and perhaps even with the Protagoras and the Laches.

"After an interval of some months or years, and at Phlius, a town of Peloponnesus, the tale of the last hours of Socrates is narrated to Echecrates and other Phliasians by Phaedo the 'beloved dis-ciple.' The Dialogue necessarily takes the form of a narrative, because Socrates has to be described acting as well as speaking. The minutest particu-lars of the event are interesting to distant friends, and the narrator has an equal interest in them. During the voyage of the sacred ship to and from Delos, which has occupied thirty days, the execution of Socrates has been deferred. (Com-pare Xen. Mem.) The time has been passed by him in conversation with a select company of dis-ciples. But now the holy season is over, and the disciples meet earlier than usual in order that they may converse with Socrates for the last time."

Plato studied under Socrates and was Aristotle's teacher. Together these three Greeks developed the basis of philosophical thinking for the entire Western world. Plato was also a writer, mathematician, and founder of the Academy in Athens, which was the first university in Europe. Thesetetus is a dialogue concerning the nature of knowledge. In the dialogue Euclides tells his friend Terpsion that he had written a book years ago based on what Socrates had told him of a conversation he'd had with Theaetetus when he was a young man. Euclides reads the book aloud to Theaetetus who is ill. Socrates says there are three definitions of knowledge, perception, true judgment, and knowledge as a true judgment with an account. Socrates finds none of these to be satisfactory.