Abstract

In the Protagoras the readers witness philosophy’s dramatic entrance onto a stage. By assuming that the dramatic date of the dialogue is 432, this is arguably philosophy’s first appearance in the distinctive form of the Socratic activity or Socratic questioning, and Plato saw it fit to be placed on a stage already crowded with the champions of sophistry. The argument of the paper is that in the Protagoras the readers witness Socrates’ own “turning into philosophy”, and in addition Socrates demonstrates how Hippocrates is “turned towards philosophy”.