Timeline 7 The fourth century BC.

Plato’s Bright Ideas

As we saw in chapter 10, the problem of reconstructing the thinking of Socrates is a product of the fact
that Socrates left no writings for us to read. The problem of reconstructing Plato’s thinking is entirely
different, but equally frustrating. Unlike Socrates, Plato produced a considerable number of written
works, all of which survive today. They are among the most skillfully crafted and articulate pieces of
prose literature ever written in any language. The problem is posed by the form those writings take. With
the exception of some letters which were supposedly written by Plato but whose authenticity is
questionable, the works of Plato purport to convey in written form the words spoken by various people,
none of whom is Plato himself. For the most part, they are in the form of dialogues, primarily involving
Socrates engaged in fictional conversations with his real-life contemporaries, who include both Athenians
and prominent visitors to Athens. In other words, Plato never speaks in his own voice and never tells us
what he is thinking. Nor are we entitled to assume that Plato has adopted Socrates as his mouthpiece and
uses the words of Socrates to express his own thoughts, because Socrates makes it a point to claim that he
has no special knowledge, and he generally confines himself to examining the ideas of his interlocutors,
which he often shows to be inadequate. How can this “Socrates” be compatible with the man whom the
Delphic oracle declared to be most wise? In the Apology, Plato’s Socrates seeks to address this by saying
that, when he heard the report of the oracle he immediately tried to prove the oracle wrong, by finding