Demodocus

by Plato

Demodocus (Greek: Δημόδοκος) is purported to be one of the dialogs of Plato. The dialog is extant & was included in the Stephanus edition published in Geneva in 1578. It's now generally acknowledged to be a fabrication by a late sophist or rhetorician. It appears to be a combination of two separate works. The first part is a monologue (addressed to Demodocus) which argues against collective decision-making. There then follows a trilogy of dialogs (with anonymous participants) which raise three elements of doubt against common sense.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

Unknown Binding

About the author

Plato (Greek: Πλάτων), born Aristocles (c. 427 – 348 BC), was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. He raised problems for what became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Platonic Academy, a philosophical school in Athens where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known as Platonism.
Plato's most famous contribution is the theory of forms (or ideas), which has been interpreted as advancing a solution to what is now known as the problem of universals. He was decisively influenced by the pre-Socratic thinkers Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself.
Along with his teacher Socrates, and Aristotle, his student, Plato is a central figure in the history of philosophy. Plato's entire body of work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years—unlike that of nearly all of his contemporaries. Although their popularity has fluctuated, they have consistently been read and studied through the ages. Through Neoplatonism, he also greatly influenced both Christian and Islamic philosophy. In modern times, Alfred North Whitehead famously said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato."

Reviews

[Maxime N. Georgel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un autre apocryphe de Platon et le lecteur habitué de Platon le verra tout de suite. Le raisonnement socratique semble être utilisé mais pour défendre des positions plus ou moins sophistes. Mais en ce que ces dialogues poussent à réfléchir, ils sont assez stimulants et la lecture est agréable.

La structure est souvent la suivante : un tel dit avoir entendu 2 personnes être d’un avis contraire, il rapporte les avis et arguments de chacun et conclut, comme s’il écrivait à un maître, « quant à moi, je ne sais pas quelle opinion préférer, peux-tu m’éclairer ? »

[Joshua Dew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the dialogue is similar to Sisyphus in that it urges caution about taking advice from others, especially those without knowledge of the subject in question. This is followed by three anecdotes about problems related to trust and judgement of the testimony of others which concludes in aporia.

[Santiago González (puntoartica) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Un diálogo atribuido a Platón bastante malo, hay razonamientos sofísticos y luego esto, que son argumentos que bien podría hacer una ameba, por lo menos no es un refrito, aunque trata temas parecidos a otros aporéticos.

[Mark W. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It doesn't feel like a Platonic dialogue. I haven't followed the authenticity debate closely, but if it is real, it reads like an abandoned draft or early work.

[John]

Feels like it was written by a Sophist