Socrates’ Mythological Role in Plato’s Theaetetus
Abstract
Plato, as a poet, employs muthos extensively to
express his philosophical dialectical development, so the majority of
his dialogues are comprised of muthoi. We cannot separate his
muthos from his philosophical thought, since the former has great
influence in the latter. So the methodology of this paper is first to
discuss the dialogue "Theaetetus" to find out why he compares Socrates
to the Greek goddess Artemis; then his concept of Maieutikē will be
investigated. At the beginning of Plato’s "Theaetetus", Socrates first
likens himself to the goddess Artemis, who, though unmarried, has a
duty to assist women in labour. Socrates’ role, as Plato portrays, is
the same as that of Artemis; and the technē he possesses is Maieutikē,
which is to assist his students in giving birth to their mental offspring.
This paper will focus on discussion on the Socratic mythological role
in Platonic interpretation and dialectics so as to reveal the
philosophical meaning of Socratic ignorance.