Theaetetus

by Benjamin Jowett (Translator), Plato

Overview

Set immediately prior to the trial and execution of Socrates in 399 BC, Theaetetus shows the great philosopher considering the nature of knowledge itself, in a debate with the geometrician Theodorus and his young follower Theaetetus. Their dialogue covers many questions, such as: is knowledge purely subjective, composed of the ever-changing flow of impressions we receive from the outside world? Is it better thought of as 'true belief'? Or is it, as many modern philosophers argue, 'justified true belief', in which the belief is supported by argument or evidence? With skill and eloquence, Socrates guides the debate, drawing out the implications of these theories and subjecting them to merciless and mesmerising criticism. One of the founding works of epistemology, this profound discussion of the problem of knowledge continues to intrigue and inspire.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781977504661
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	09/21/2017
Pages:	214
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.45(d)

About the Author

John McDowell taught at University College, Oxford before moving to Pittsburgh in 1986. He was the John Locke Lecturer at the University of Oxford in 1991. His publications include Mind and World (1994), Mind, Value, and Reality (1998), and Meaning, Knowledge, and Reality (1998), all Harvard University Press. His edition of Plato's heaetetus was published in the Clarendon Plato series in 1973.
Lesley Brown was Centenary Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at Somerville College, and a University Lecturer in the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford; she is now an emeritus fellow. She has published widely on Plato's dialogues, notably the Theaetetus and Sophist, as well as on Aristotle. She wrote the Introduction and Notes for the new edition of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics in OWC (2009).