The Cratylus of Plato: A Commentary

Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 14
Preliminary note......Page 17
Abbreviations......Page 18
1.1.1 The correctness of names......Page 22
II Naturalism defended, developed and illustrated......Page 27
III Naturalism discussed and conventionalism vindicated......Page 30
1.1.3 Making sense of etymology......Page 32
1.2.1 Cratylus......Page 35
1.2.2 Hermogenes......Page 39
1.3 THE DATE......Page 40
1.3.2 The relative date......Page 41
1.4 THE EVIDENCE FOR THE TEXT......Page 42
1.1.1 First approach to the thesis (383ab)......Page 44
1.1.2 More details: Hermogenes’ name (383b–384c)......Page 47
1.1.3 The origin of natural names......Page 53
1.2 BEFORE CRATYLUS......Page 54
2.1.1 First statement (384ce)......Page 58
2.1.2 Public and private names (385ab)......Page 63
2.2.1 True and false sentences (385b)......Page 70
2.2.2 The parts of a sentence. True and false names (385cd)......Page 75
2.2.3 Truth values and sentence structure......Page 80
2.2.4 The passage’s function in context......Page 83
2.2.5 Authenticity and position of the passage......Page 89
2.2.6 Proclus’ testimony......Page 91
2.3 CONVENTION AND INDIVIDUAL DECISION: FURTHER DETAILS (385DE)......Page 93
2.4 HERMOGENES AND PROTAGOR AS (385E–386E)......Page 97
2.4.1 Man the measure of all things? (385e–386a)......Page 98
2.4.2 The refutation of Protagoras – and of Euthydemus (386ad)......Page 102
2.4.3 Conclusion: objects have a stable being (386de)......Page 107
2.5 BEFORE HERMOGENES......Page 109
2.5.1 Empedoclean and Thucydidean ‘conventionalism’......Page 110
2.5.2 De natura hominis and Democritus......Page 112
3.1.1 The naturalness of actions. Cutting and burning (386e–387b)......Page 116
3.1.2 Speaking (387bc)......Page 121
3.1.3 Naming (387cd)......Page 124
3.2.1 Names as instruments (387d–388c)......Page 128
3.2.2 Aristotle on names as instruments......Page 135
3.3.1 The use and the making of instruments (388cd)......Page 136
3.3.2 The lawgiver as name-maker (388d–389a)......Page 138
3.3.3 Who is the lawgiver?......Page 142
3.4.1 Instruments and forms (389a)......Page 146
3.4.2 Generic and specific forms of tools (389bd)......Page 150
3.4.3 Forms of name (389d–390a)......Page 153
3.4.4 The lawgiver and the dialectician (390bd)......Page 159
3.5 CONCLUSION (390DE)......Page 165
4.1 SEARCHING FOR A THEORY (390E–392B)......Page 167
4.2.1 ‘Scamandrius’ and ‘Astyanax’ (392bd)......Page 173
4.2.2 ‘Astyanax’ and ‘Hector’ (392d–393b). The argument previewed......Page 176
4.2.3 A lion begets a lion – and a king a king (393bd)......Page 180
4.2.4 The relative irrelevance of letters and syllables (393de)......Page 184
4.2.5 Synonymical Generation runs wild. The ‘power’ of names (394ab)......Page 188
4.2.6 ‘Hector’ and ‘Astyanax’ again (394be)......Page 193
4.3 CONCLUSION (394E–396C)......Page 199
CHAPTER 5 Naturalism illustrated: the etymologies of ‘secondary’ names (394e–421c)......Page 202
5.1.1 Analysis of 394e–421c......Page 203
5.1.2 The systematic character of the etymologies......Page 210
5.1.3 Platonic views in the etymologies (396bc, 399bc, 400ab, 403a–404b, 410b)......Page 212
5.2.1 Ordinary proper names put aside (397ab)......Page 218
5.2.2 The etymologies as doxography, or the suicide of naturalism (400d–401a)......Page 220
5.2.3 The etymologies as doxography (continued): the theory of flux (401d, 402a, 411bc)......Page 222
5.3.1 Locomotion......Page 231
5.3.2 The Penetrating Principle (412c–413d)......Page 236
5.3.3 Further evidence about the atomists in the Cratylus (412b, 414a, 420d)......Page 244
5.3.4 Atomism in the Theaetetus......Page 246
5.3.5 The Penetrating Principle again (413e–414a, 417bc, 418a–419b)......Page 248
5.4 MEANING IN THE ETYMOLOGIES......Page 254
5.5.1 Seriousness in the etymologies (414c–415a, 439bc)......Page 258
5.5.2 The inspiration of Euthyphro (396c–397a)......Page 262
5.5.3 Humour and detachment in the etymologies (398de, 399a, 406bc)......Page 267
5.5.4 The etymologies’ epistemological status......Page 271
6.1.1 The postulation of primary names (421c–422c)......Page 278
6.1.2 Intermezzo: the meaning of ..µa (399ab, 421b, e)......Page 283
6.2.1 Introduction (422ce)......Page 288
6.2.2 Indication by gestural mimesis (422e–423b)......Page 290
6.2.3 Indication by vocal mimesis (423bc)......Page 292
6.2.4 Vocal imitation of the essence (423c–424a)......Page 295
6.3.1 The etymologies of primary names: false start (424ab)......Page 301
6.3.2 Division of letters (424bc)......Page 302
6.3.3 Division of beings (424d)......Page 306
6.3.4 Matching letters and beings (424d–425a)......Page 311
6.3.5 Intermezzo: names, verbs and speech (425a)......Page 314
6.3.6 First assessment of Socrates’ programme......Page 317
6.3.7 How names are and how they should be (425ab)......Page 319
6.4.1 Disclaimers and preliminaries (425b–426b)......Page 323
6.4.2 Letters and primary names: the examples (426c–427c)......Page 327
6.4.3 Conclusion of Socrates’ survey (427cd)......Page 332
6.4.4 An assessment of the mimetic survey......Page 333
6.4.5 The discussion with Hermogenes concluded (427de)......Page 336
7.1.1 Preliminary exchanges (427e–428e)......Page 338
7.1.2 Better and worse names? (428e–429b)......Page 340
7.1.3 Hermogenes’ name, again (429bc)......Page 345
7.2.1 Naturalism and the impossibility of false speaking (429cd)......Page 347
7.2.2 Cratylus against false speaking (429d)......Page 353
7.2.3 Cratylus against false speaking, continued......Page 356
7.2.4 Socrates’ defence of false speaking (430a–431c)......Page 359
7.2.5 Conclusion......Page 371
7.3.1 First round (431ce)......Page 372
7.3.2 Second round: Cratylus’ argument from spelling (431e–432a)......Page 377
7.3.3 Second round: Socrates’ reply and the ‘Two Cratyluses’ (432ad)......Page 380
7.3.4 Conclusions on fine and bad names (432d–433b)......Page 390
8.1.1 Preliminaries (433b–434b)......Page 404
8.1.2 The sklerotes argument: conflicting letters in the same name (434bd)......Page 411
8.1.3 The sklerotes argument: understanding, indication, correctness (434e–435b)......Page 416
8.1.4 Convention ‘contributes’ to correctness (435bc)......Page 426
8.1.5 Conclusions on resemblance and convention in names (435cd)......Page 434
8.1.6 Convention elsewhere in the Platonic corpus......Page 445
8.1.7 The ancient commentators......Page 446
8.2.1 Cratylus’ view that names ‘teach’ (435d–436a)......Page 448
8.2.2 Names might express false beliefs (436a–437d)......Page 452
8.2.3 Names and the namegiver’s knowledge (437d–438d)......Page 462
8.2.4 Knowledge ‘without names’ (438d–439b)......Page 465
9.1.1 The lawgivers in a whirl (439bc)......Page 470
9.1.2 Flux and forms: the arguments previewed......Page 472
9.1.3 Enter the forms, exeunt particulars (439cd)......Page 477
9.1.4 The first argument (439d)......Page 483
9.1.5 The first argument and the Theaetetus......Page 489
9.1.6 The second argument (439e)......Page 494
9.1.7 The third argument (439e–440a)......Page 499
9.1.8 The fourth argument (440ab)......Page 503
9.1.9 Flux rejected? (440bc)......Page 504
9.1.10 Conclusion (440cd)......Page 506
9.2 EPILOGUE (440DE)......Page 508
Appendix1: The text of 437d10–438b8......Page 510
Appendix 2: Some interpolations and non-mechanical errors in W and δ
......Page 517
References......Page 518
I General index......Page 530
II Index of ancient texts......Page 538
III Index of Greek expressions......Page 554
IV Index of words discussed in the Cratylus......Page 557