The Meaning of Dialectic in Plato

Abstract

What is the meaning of dialectic in the Platonic dialogues? Plato struggled with this question and his words manifest this struggle, though no definitive answer is ever forthcoming. In this essay, I have a twofold proposal: first, to present five questions which focus on what I take to be the key factors in Plato's use of dialectic; secondly, to draw out a response to this set of questions from the following works: Theaetetus, Parmenides, Sophist, Statesman and the Seventh Letter. Some of these dialogues do not fully answer each of the questions. In such cases, treatment of the question is concise. Some of the dialogues also intimate an answer which is given more exhaustive consideration in a dialogue which precedes the five mentioned. In this event, I briefly describe the connection between the previous dialogue and the one at hand. The essay concludes with my own reflections on Platonic dialectic. In particular, I take up the issue of whether dialectic is a method of discovery or a method of clarification and attempt to resolve this apparent tension by arguing that pedagogy and scienctific inquiry are not dichotomized pursuits for Plato.