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Plato's Cratylus

Plato's <I>Cratylus</I>

Plato's <I>Cratylus</I>

David Sedley, University of Cambridge
September 2007
Available
Paperback
9780521034029

    This book presents a global reintrepretation of the Cratylus, which bears on the relationship of language to knowledge, a topic that has never ceased to be of central philosophical importance. It is designed to be accessible to anyone interested either in Plato or in the history of linguistic thought. The main text does not presuppose prior expertise in Plato or knowledge of Greek; such scholarly aspects are confined to the footnotes.

    • A serious attempt to show how the study of etymology fits into Plato's philosophical outlook
    • Illuminates the importance of the Cratylus for understanding both Plato's work as a whole, and his own conception of it
    • Written to be accessible to students and non-specialists and assumes no prior knowledge of Plato or of Greek

    Reviews & endorsements

    "...impressive monography...even those sceptical of whether Plato was ever a Platonist might find Sedley's double-dating of the Cratylus persuasive, and...somewhat liberating."
    -A.D. Carpenter, Department of Philosophy, University of St. Andrews, Ancient Philosophy

    See more reviews

    Product details

    September 2007
    Paperback
    9780521034029
    204 pages
    228 × 150 × 11 mm
    0.32kg
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • Preface
    • 1. Author and text
    • 2. Plato the etymologist
    • 3. Linguistic science
    • 4. Etymology at work
    • 5. The dominance of flux
    • 6. The limits of etymology
    • 7. A Platonic outcome
    • References
    • Index locorum
    • General index.
      Author
    • David Sedley , University of Cambridge

      David Sedley is Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy in the University of Cambridge. He is the author, with A. A. Long, of The Hellenistic Philosophers (1987; Vol. 1: HB 0521 255619; PB 0521 275563; Vol. 2 SBN: HB 0521 255627; PB 0521 275571), author of Lucretius and the Transformation of Greek Wisdom (1998: 0521 570328) and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Philosophy (2003; HB 0521 772850; PB 0521 775035).