Making Sense of Socrates in a Dialogue of Contradictions: Studies in Plato's Protagoras

Abstract

Examines Plato's Protagoras as a masterpiece of writing where literary and dramatic elements constitute its philosophical import. Part one, "A Dialogue of Contradictions," helps us understand the Protagoras as an exploration of the differences between philosophical and sophistic method through an analysis of its complex cast of characters. Part two, "Making sense of Socrates," focuses on a close textual reading of the last fifteen pages of the dialogue to clarify the significance of the confrontation between Socrates and Protagoras.