Clitophon

by Plato, S.R. Slings (Editor)

The Clitophon, a dialogue generally ascribed to Plato, is significant for focusing on Socrates' role as an exhorter of other people to engage in philosophy. This is the first critical edition to be published in nearly seventy years and the first ever commentary in English. Professor Slings provides a text based on new examination of all relevant manuscripts and accompanies it with a translation. The book also contains a very extensive introduction and commentary.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Classics, Greece, Ancient

380 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1851

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

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

probably the most ruthless attack Plato gives of himself for the unsatisfying conclusions of all his earlier dialogues and where he most harshly splits his Socrates from the historical one. I have as yet not read his later works but this puts his entire body of works into position and though it is questionable as to the regard of its authenticity, if true, however, is also enlightening to the problems that would change Plato's trajectory. I agree with the idea posited by some that one could read this as a preface to the Republic.

[Nicole Cage · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Clitophon : 😤😡 🤬

Socrates: 😳😶🙄

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clitofon är ett tal från en som försökt hjälpa Sokrates. Det handlar egentligen om vad som är dygdernas och filosofins innersta väsen. Argumentet som ges är att allt är blir relativt om man följer sokrates metod, vilket ju inte var ett argument som sokrates uppskattade. Slutklämmen är argumentet att sokrates visserligen kunde driva folk att söka kunskap, men knappast kunde hjälpa dem att nå den.

[Joel Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

In six pages, Plato (probably - some scholarly debate on the author) gives Socrates (and his own version of Socrates) a taste of his own medicine. Clitophon, a disillusioned student of Socrates, finds Socrates's pursuit of virtue admirable but acutely points out that neither Socrates nor his students know precisely what virtue - particularly justice - is. The dialogue ends uncharacteristically with Clitophon having the final word.

Socrates's apparent definition of justice, in this dialogue, is the "aim of harming one's enemies and benefitting one's friends." But justice, Socrates seems to admit, never harms anyone. This dialogue ends with the vexing conclusion of "whatever virtue (justice) is, it's probably good."

It's an excellent introductory read to Plato's Republic as Polemarchus takes Socrates's supposed position of justice "harming one's enemies and benefitting one's friends" in Book I. Socrates will make quick work of that definition, the way Clitophon did, and Thrasymachus will pose the next challenge.

[Bruce Majors · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Plato's shortest dialogue.

A lot of themes and questions in the Republic are surveyed here.

Clitophon concludes that Socrates doesn't seem to know what beauty, justice, etc. are, or doesn't want to share the knowledge, so he must find someone else to not only exhort him to be good but to tell him how to do it.

https://monadnock.net/plato/clitophon...

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short dialogue where Clitophon rails against Socrates. Does Socrates even know what Justice is, or does he know only how to praise it?

The world may never know..

[Jackson Cyril · Rating 4 out of 5]

In all the Platonic I've read one of the major problems is that Socrates tears a concept asunder by questioning all that has been previously thought about it, and then the dialogue ends with major confusion. I realize that Plato wants the reader to grapple with the issues at hand and doesn't want to explicitly tell us what is the right answer, it would be nice to have some concrete answers sometimes. This is exactly what Clitophon berates Socrates about in this dialogue. He says he left Socrates for another teacher precisely because Socrates raises many questions and answers few. A very interesting dialogue.

[Serch Sánchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recientemente tuve la oportunidad de volver a leer un diálogo platónico. Esta vez, el escenario fue bastante inusual: una conversación entre Sócrates y un antiguo griego llamado Clitofón. A diferencia de lo que normalmente se espera del corpus platónico, donde Sócrates usualmente domina el diálogo, como en el caso de figuras como Eutifrón o Critón, en "Clitofón" encontramos un giro a la narrativa.

Lo que más cachó mi atención fue el papel dominante de Clitofon en la mayoría del diálogo. Sócrates, por su parte, pasa a tomar una posición más pasiva, convirtiéndose en un oyente más. Clitofón no se anda con cosas: critica duramente las enseñanzas de Sócrates, expresando su frustración ante respuestas que percibe como ambiguas y demasiado abstractas. Sostiene que Sócrates solo endulza el oído, sin ofrecer soluciones prácticas o instrucciones concretas sobre cómo aplicar la filosofía y la virtud en la vida real.

La mayéutica, técnica característica de Sócrates, parece fallar ante Clitofón. En su intento por definir la justicia, Clitofon acusa a Sócrates de contradecirse a sí mismo, y de ser un experto en la retórica, pero sin una solución práctica para sus discípulos. Aquí el diálogo conecta con ideas de Trasímaco, otro filósofo contemporáneo que, a diferencia de Sócrates, cobraba por sus servicios filosóficos. Trasímaco participa en "La República" de Platón, argumentando que la justicia es una invención de la élite para beneficiarse a sí misma, y me pareció interesante ya que Clitofón lo menciona, y le dice a Sócrates que él si da respuestas concretas a la acción.

En un momento crítico, Clitofon confronta a Sócrates con una advertencia: si no puede proporcionar las respuestas que busca, se irá con Trasímaco. Esto sugiere que Clitofon, eventualmente, podría haber adoptado ideas similares a las de Trasímaco, pues ambos comparten una visión pragmática de la filosofía, y en este caso, de la justicia, como se puede ver en "La República", libro que de hecho no he terminado por su densidad, pero que pronto lo haré.

Otro aspecto intrigante es que, aunque Platón era principalmente un oyente en este diálogo, se menciona que había otros presentes que también ofrecían sus opiniones. En conclusión, "Clitofón" me ofreció una perspectiva mucho más amplia sobre Sócrates. A pesar de considerarlo uno de los mayores pensadores de la historia, este diálogo me ha hecho reflexionar sobre las limitaciones de su método. Sócrates se mantuvo fiel a su estilo, sin ceder ante la presión para ofrecer soluciones prácticas. Esto me lleva a cuestionar y valorar aún más la diversidad de enfoques en la búsqueda de la verdad y la aplicación de la filosofía en la vida cotidiana.

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

Une critique de Socrate chez Platon n'est pas courante et cela n'étonnera donc pas que plusieurs aient questionné l'authenticité du dialogue. Quoi qu'il en soit, on retrouve des réflexions similaires dans La République qui, elle, est indiscutée.

La critique est la suivante : Socrate crie à tous ceux qui veulent l'entendre et même ceux qui aimeraient l'ignorer qu'il ne faut pas se soucier uniquement des biens du corps mais aussi de ceux de l'âme, qu'il faut s'appliquer à la justice. Mais dès lors qu'on le questionne sur ce qu'est la justice et ce qu'il convient de faire, il botte en touche.

Un livre d'une sagesse pragmatique, au final, mais qui est la bienvenue au milieu du corpus platonicien.

[Joshua Dew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what to think about this dialogue. This student criticizes Socrates for essentially causing uncertainty within people, creating a vacuum of knowledge and morality but providing no concrete answers to fill it. He goes on to accuse Socrates of not being knowledgeable about the topics on which he speaks, such as justice, or that he is unwilling to teach others about them, an accusation not only ignorant but ironic.

[Medhat ullah · Rating 5 out of 5]

short dialogue by plato criticizing socrates conception of abstract generalizations of knowledge and concerned with nature of questioning.i have learned plato criticizing socrates for not giving straightforward advice on how to live eudaminostic vita would consider these questions rather than abstract thinking which doesn't lead to direct result. an unresolved issue between abstract philosophical thoughts and moral guidance. simple

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Clitophon is short, only a few pages, and deals with critique that Socrates is of little use in attaining virtue, being good only to set one in search of it. The point is made and no reply is given, so it is unclear what it is we should be considering in the light of the exchange.

[Santiago González · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un diálogo probablemente apócrifo de Platón que crítica duramente a Sócrates, bastante aristotélico y burlesco. Tradicionalmente puesto antes de la republica, algunos piensan que se quedó inacabado para escribir la Republica.

[Julia Novaes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clítofon expõe a filosofia como um esquema de pirâmide

[Esioan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Socrates kinda mogged here ngl

[Emre Tarduş · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okuma hazzı için okunacak bir kitap olarak zayıf ama özenli bir araştırma ve basım.

[Genesis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clitophon Shapiro destroys Socrates gobbledygook with facts and LOGIC!

[James Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strange and exciting indeed. This is the call to which The Republic is a response.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

“For I will say, Socrates, that you are worth every thing to the man, who is not yet exhorted; but to him who has been exhorted, you are nearly an impediment to his arriving at the end of virtue, and becoming happy.” (p. 2026)

Clitophon is the shortest work attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Some scholars argue that it was actually written by someone else, primarily because the character Socrates does not “win” his conversation with the character Clitophon. This is very unusual, as Plato tends to use Socrates as a mouthpiece for his philosophical ideas, and all other characters tend to be strawmen who quickly acquiesce to his wisdom.
Socrates seeks out the statesman Clitophon, as he has heard that Clitophon has been criticizing him. Like a good philosopher, Socrates welcomes the critique of his ideas. Most of the dialogue is made up of Clitophon’s speech. He praises Socrates for being able to effectively urge (exhort) people to achieve virtue and justice, then criticizes him for not instructing people on how to achieve these, or even providing a coherent definition of what these concepts are. There is truth to this accusation, especially in what scholars consider to be Plato’s earliest Socratic dialogues.
Clitophon ends abruptly, without Socrates responding to the criticism. Some scholars theorize that the work was left unfinished, or maybe we are missing part of it. Others have suggested that this piece is an introduction to the much longer work The Republic, where Socrates does provide answers to what virtue and justice are, and then describes how to achieve them in a perfect city-state.
.
Title: Clitophon
Author: Plato (spurious)
Year: 4th century BCE
Translator: Benjamin Jowett
Translation year: 1892
Genre: Fiction - Socratic dialogue, Philosophy
Date(s) read: 4/14/23-4/15/23
Reading journal entry #90 in 2023

Clerkin, Connor. (2016, February 21). Philosophy by the Book Episode 20: Plato's Clitophon. [Podcast] Philosophy By the Book. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Plato. (2015). Clitophon. In Delphi Classics (Ed.), & B. Jowett (Trans.), Delphi Complete Works of Plato (pp. 2019-2026). Delphi Classics. https://www.delphiclassics.com/shop/p...

Whitaker, K. (2018, September 27). Plato's Clitophon -- Brief Introduction [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNNrF...

Plato's dialogues:
Early:
Apology,
Charmides,
Crito,
Euthyphro,
Gorgias
Hippias Minor,
Hippias Major,
Ion,
Laches,
Lysis,
Protagoras,
Menexenus
Alcibiades I

Middle:
Cratylus,
Euthydemus,
Meno,
Parmenides,
Phaedo,
Phaedrus,
Clitophon,
Republic,
Symposium,
Theaetetus

Late:
Critias,
Sophist,
Statesman,
Timaeus,
Philebus,
Laws

[Garrett Cash · Rating 3 out of 5]

This must surely be the strangest of several strange dialogues in the catalog of Plato's work, since it is an incredibly short piece about a student who came to Socrates looking for answers, and went away to another teacher frustrated because all he got from Socrates was more questions. There's not much that can be said about this other than that perhaps Plato was making a point about young people who want answers and will go to Sophists to get what they want to hear even if it's bogus. Otherwise, it's an interesting little anomaly.