Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2007
Abstract
The paper explores three appearances of the word “help” in Plato’s Euthydemus. It concludes that the “help” is in Plato a complex philosophical term: firstly it shows the difference between the dialectical elenchus and sophistical eristics; secondly it reveals two components of Socrates’ dialectic, namely his dominant position in the active formulation of the doctrine and the necessity of at least passive assistance from his students; thirdly, it shows the final objective of this pedagogy, which is the fulfillment of Socrates’ philosophical mission in the person of Plato and his founding of Academy.