THE PATH OF KNOWLEDGE: THE THEAETETUSby Robert CavalierTHEAETETUSby Plato(Written 360 B.C.E)Translated by Benjamin Jowett 1020THE PATH OF KNOWLEDGE: THE THEAETETUSby Robert CavalierThe Theaetetus can be considered a Socratic dialogue, since in it we do not arrive at any definitive answers to the questions which are posed. Its central concern is the problem of knowledge, yet its main conclusions all serve to show us what knowledge is not. Be this as it may, the Theaetetus rightfully belongs to the later set of dialogues since it prepares the way for the truly Platonic analyses of knowledge which are found in the Sophist. The Theaetetus, by clearing away many false opinions, allows Plato to introduce his own full-blown theory, a theory which connects the problem of knowledge with the realm ofthe Forms. Because of this interconnection between the two dialogues, and because the analyses of the Sophist presuppose the negative critiques of the Theaetetus, we shall begin our path of knowledge with the Socratic problem. The dialogue opens with a brief prologue which serves to date the time of the supposed conversation. An introduction then guides the reader into the setting for the discussions which were to have taken place between an aging Socrates and a youthful Theaetetus. It is here that the dialogue is given its direction through the posing of its central question: "What is the nature of knowledge?" Theaetetus makes three general attempts to answer this question, and his responses form the major divisions of the work. The first attempt tries to equate knowledge with sense perception; the second speaks of knowledge as true judgment (but how do we know that a judgment is true?); the third response augments the second by saying that knowledge is true judgment accompanied by an explanation. Yet Socrates is able to show Theaetetus that each attempt to arrive at an absolute answer to the problem of knowledge is fatally flawed. In the end, we are left with an awareness of our ignorance concerning the nature of knowledge (and the way is prepared for the more thoroughgoing analyses of the Sophist). The Prologue (1-71) Through the eyes of Eucleides, we see a sick and mortally, wounded Theaetetus being carried back to Athens from the battlefields near Corinth. The dialogue begins as Eucleides encounters Terpsion of Megara. Both are now middle-aged, and both were present at the death of Socrates some 35 years ago. Eucleldes tells Terpsion of the sad sight he has just seen, and recalls how Socrates, as an old man, had once had a very stimulating conversation with a then young Theaetetus. Eucleides has a copy of that dialogue and, at Terpsion's request, they retire to Eucleides' house where a servant boy is bought out to read the text. It is a fitting way to remember the wise and noble Theaetetus. . . Introduction (72-528)The scene opens with Socrates enquiring of the visiting geometer, Theodorus of Cyrene, if there were anyyoung men in Athens who had impressed him. Theodorus responds by saying that there was a young man,very similar in appearance to Socrates himself, whose name was Theaetetus. At this moment, three well-oiled boys are seen walking down the street, and Theodorus points out Theaetetus as the one in the middle. He gestures to the youth to come and meet Socrates. At first, Socrates compares their physical likeness, noting that both he and Theaetetus are short, stout, andsnubnosed. The conversation, however. moves quickly from the similarity of their bodies to the similarity of their souls. Are they alike in intellect as well? To test this, Socrates asks Theaetetus to join him in solving a problem. The problem's general form concerns the relation of knowledge to wisdom. But before330405060investigating the relationship of the two, one must have a clear idea of each. At present, Socrates is interested in the problem of knowledge. This, then, will form the central topic of the dialogue. Theaetetus'abilities will be put to the "test" through his attempts to answer the question: "What, precisely, is knowledge?" (217). Theodorus, the man of mathematical figures, is not at home with a question like the problem of knowledge as such. He excuses himself from any active part in the conversation, thus leaving Theaetetus and Socrates to fend for themselves. Theaetetus at first responds to Socrates' question by simply giving instances of knowledge: the things one learns in geometry, the things one can learn from a cobbler, and so forth. These examples of knowledge, Theaetetus believes, give us an answer to the question concerning the nature of knowledge. But Socrates notes that this first answer does not so much address knowledge as it does the particular objects of knowledge. For instance, the things one learns in geometry are mathematical rules and figures, the things one learns in cobbling are leather-tanning and sewing. Yet the question was not "What are the objects of knowledge?" nor "How many kinds of knowledge are there?" but rather, and quite simply, "What is knowledge itself?" (247). We want a "definition" of knowledge in and of itself, i.e., we want to grasp the nature or essence of knowledge. (We want, if you will, a knowledge of knowledge.) This, then, becomes the goal of the dialogue: To discover a "single character" that "runs through" all the particular instances of knowledge. It is only in this manner that we will arrive at an answer to the question posed. Theaetetus is justifiably set back by such quick dialectical moves. He doubts that he is up to the task. Socrates, however, encourages the youth to continue. He points out that although he himself may be without any answers, he possesses a peculiar ability to help others in their search for wisdom. He then uses the image of a midwife to show Theaetetus what he means (395-526). (This is a key image, comparable to the image of Socrates as a gadfly. Both images are used by Plato to describe the nature of Socratic activity.) Like a midwife who is herself without child, Socrates goes about the town trying to help others give a successful birth (in his case, the birth of true knowledge). Again, like the midwife, he iscapable of seeing i, the child to be brought forth is a phantom (dead and false) and, with this, he is also capable of determining a time for miscarriage (a dialectical end) if all is not going well. This notion of intellectual midwifery sets the tone for the dialogue. Theaetetus, with the aid of Socrates' questions,