Abstract

A prologue translates and discusses 341b7–344d3 of Plato’s Seventh Letter. Traditional readings have not made clear why Socrates must act as “midwife” who leads people to discover for themselves the natures of things. Beets argues that truth is ineffable; it is, however, already present but dormant in the mind. Those two points combined require Socratic midwifery. The significance of Socrates’ “divine guide” has also been left dark. Beets argues that Socrates’ daimon provides infallible access to this ineffable and perfect truth. Ultimately, Socrates’ sole purpose in arguing with any interlocutor is simply to show the shortcoming of intuition and discursive reasoning and to awaken him to the “infallible guide within himself”.