Socrates 'Theaetetus' Definition Of Knowledge

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Individuals assume they possess and comprehend what knowledge is. In Plato’s Theaetetus Socrates seeks the definition of knowledge by questioning a young student named Theaetetus. The dialogue was constructed as a tribute to Theaetetus who would become a Greek mathematician. When asked what knowledge is, Theaetetus delivered three definitions, which include: knowledge is perception, knowledge is true judgment, and knowledge is true judgment with an account. Socrates successfully rejects Theaetetus’ definitions of knowledge by demonstrating problematic results that transpire, which end the dialogue in an aporetic fashion.
The dialogue begins with two individuals named Eucleides and Terpsion having a slave read them Eucleides’ memory of a conversation …show more content…
Furthermore, Socrates questions Theodorus (who is a mathematics tutor) if he knows any intelligent students that have potential. Theodorus describes a student named Theaetetus, whom is not attractive and physically resembles Socrates. Theodorus states, “he is not beautiful at all, but rather like you [Socrates], snub-nosed, with eyes that stick out” (160). Theodorus claim that both Socrates and Theaetetus are ugly is a demonstration of Theodorus’ use of perception to describe the world in a relative fashion. Socrates and Theaetetus are introduced and Socrates begins to examine Theaetetus’ intelligence. Socrates quickly states, “I can’t get a proper grasp of what on earth knowledge really is. Could we manage to put it into words?” (162) Theaetetus hastily claims that knowledge is Geometry and crafts such as cobbling. Consequently, Socrates refutes his answer by stating that he wants to know what knowledge is, not what Theaetetus claims as many instances of knowledge. This claim amounts to stating that knowledge is knowledge of X, but never actually defining what knowledge is. An example of clay is used to demonstrate the absurdity of Theaetetus’ answer. Socrates asks what clay is. Many answers were delivered
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