iman shafibeik
Abstract
The early writings of Plato center based on a kind of knowledge which its object is moral virtues. According to the epistemology of these writings, theory is tied up with practice; since in its perspective, being aware of the moral virtue makes one moral and being ignorance of it causes immorality. Human’s ...
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The early writings of Plato center based on a kind of knowledge which its object is moral virtues. According to the epistemology of these writings, theory is tied up with practice; since in its perspective, being aware of the moral virtue makes one moral and being ignorance of it causes immorality. Human’s will is subordinate to knowledge as well, so that when someone knows the goodness, she/he wants it; therefore, no one does wrong willingly. Furthermore, human’s prosperity depends on knowledge; for worldly enjoyments are good only if they are used in the right way, and it is knowledge that shows the right use of them. Even moral virtues without knowledge are not true ones. Thus, knowledge is the principal condition of attaining virtue and prosperity. In the above-mentioned writings, Socratic method of dialectic is examined, and it is concluded that this method hardly ends up in knowledge. However, the way of dialectic makes philosopher’s life and existence inseparable form her/his philosophy.
iman shafibeik
Abstract
This article is an attempt to explain the relation of language to knowledge according to Plato’s Cratylus. In this dialogue, Plato examines and then refuses the two views concerning the correctness of words: conventionalism (denoting that correctness of each word is by convention) and naturalism ...
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This article is an attempt to explain the relation of language to knowledge according to Plato’s Cratylus. In this dialogue, Plato examines and then refuses the two views concerning the correctness of words: conventionalism (denoting that correctness of each word is by convention) and naturalism (denoting that each word reveals the nature of the thing named by it). Moreover, he offers a series of etymologies seemingly to show that we should not rely on analyzing the words in search of truth. Finally, he concludes that we should learn the truth independently of words. This negative conclusion, specially due to its brevity in comparison with the whole dialogue, gives rise to different interpretations in the light of Plato’s other works. The result of this research is that, according to Cratylus, any method connected to language falls short in providing pure knowledge.
