Plato, Theaetetus

Kelsey Wood (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Eleni Bozia (University of Florida), Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool)

Domains

Philosophy (any)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. -350

Places

Ancient Greece (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Dialogue

Resources

Theaitetos [Theaetetus] is one of Plato’s finest works, and it shaped the theories of knowledge from Aristotle to the present. Given Western philosophy’s focus on problems of knowledge in the modern period, one might adapt Whitehead’s dictum on Plato’s significance to say: “European epistemology consists of a series of footnotes to Theaetetus.” Careful study of Theaetetus discloses the limits of empiricism, and reveals that Platonism remains vitally relevant in contemporary philosophy. In contrast to the writings of modern epistemologists, Theaetetus not only sparkles with brilliant dialogue, it also opens up profound questions about the possibility of any comprehensive and consistent theory of knowledge, whether empiricist or rationalist. Theaetetus, along with Plato’s other “Eleatic” dialogues, has stimulated an ongoing reappraisal of the role of the forms in Plato’s late ontology. Plato’s later investigations into truth and...

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2666 words

Citation: Wood, Kelsey. "Theaetetus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 April 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13442, accessed 09 June 2026.]