Socratic Wisdom: The Model of Knowledge in Plato’s Early Dialogues

While the early Platonic dialogues have often been explored and appreciated for their ethical content, this is the first book devoted solely to the epistemology of Plato’s early dialogues. Author Hugh H. Benson argues that the characteristic features of these dialogues–Socrates’ method of questions and answers (elenchos), his fascination with definition, his professions of ignorance, and his thesis that virtue is knowledge–are decidedly epistemological. In this thoughtful study, Benson uncovers the model of knowledge that underlies these distinctively Socratic views. What emerges is unfamiliar, yet closer to a contemporary conception of scientific understanding than ordinary knowledge.