
Cratylus
'Cratylus' Summary
The subject of Cratylus is the correctness of names (περὶ ὀνομάτων ὀρθότητος), in other words, it is a critique on the subject of naming (Baxter).
When discussing an ὄνομα and how it would relate to its subject, Socrates compares the original creation of a word to the work of an artist. An artist uses color to express the essence of his subject in a painting. In much the same way, the creator of words uses letters containing certain sounds to express the essence of a word's subject. There is a letter that is best for soft things, one for liquid things, and so on. He comments:
the best possible way to speak consists in using names all (or most) of which are like the things they name (that is, are appropriate to them), while the worst is to use the opposite kind of names.
One countering position, held by Hermogenes, is that names have come about due to custom and convention. They do not express the essence of their subject, so they can be swapped with something unrelated by the individuals or communities who use them.
The line between the two perspectives is often blurred. During more than half of the dialogue, Socrates makes guesses at Hermogenes' request as to where names and words have come from. These include the names of the Olympian gods, personified deities, and many words that describe abstract concepts. He examines whether, for example, giving names of "streams" to Cronus and Rhea (Ροή – flow or space) are purely accidental.
Don't you think he who gave to the ancestors of the other gods the names “Rhea” and “Cronus” had the same thought as Heracleitus? Do you think he gave both of them the names of streams (ῥευμάτων ὀνόματα) merely by chance?
The Greek term "ῥεῦμα" may refer to the flow of any medium and is not restricted to the flow of water or liquids. Many of the words which Socrates uses as examples may have come from an idea originally linked to the name, but have changed over time. Those of which he cannot find a link, he often assumes have come from foreign origins or have changed so much as to lose all resemblance to the original word. He states, "names have been so twisted in all manner of ways, that I should not be surprised if the old language when compared with that now in use would appear to us to be a barbarous tongue."
The final theory of relations between name and object named is posited by Cratylus, a disciple of Heraclitus, who believes that names arrive from divine origins, making them necessarily correct. Socrates rebukes this theory by reminding Cratylus of the imperfection of certain names in capturing the objects they seek to signify. From this point, Socrates ultimately rejects the study of language, believing it to be philosophically inferior to a study of things themselves.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
GreekPublished In
Authors

Plato (Πλάτων)
Greece
Plato ( Classical Attic; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC)) was an Athenian philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece, founder of the Platonist school of thought and the Academy,...
Books by Plato (Πλάτων)Download eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books

Advice to the Grub Street Verse-writers by Jonathan Swift
LibriVox volunteers bring you 9 different recordings of Advice to the Grub Street Verse-writers by Jonathan Swift. This was the weekly poetry project...

Some Problems of Philosophy by William James
For several years before his death Professor William James cherished the purpose of stating his views on certain problems of metaphysics in a book add...

Plan and Preface to a Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson
The published dictionary was a huge book: with pages nearly 1½ feet tall and 20 inches wide, it contained 42,773 words; it also sold for the huge pric...

Books Fatal to Their Authors by Peter Hempson Ditchfield
This book tells the stories of authors who have lost their fortunes and sometimes their lives after writing a book. It explores the dangers of free th...

On the Ends of Good and Evil by Marcus Tullius Cicero
De finibus bonorum et malorum ("On the ends of good and evil") is a Socratic dialogue by the Roman orator, politician, and Academic Skeptic philosophe...

Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, Vol. 2, No. 21, June, 1921 by W. H. Fawcett
This issue of "Captain Billy's Whiz Bang" is a representative example of the popular humor magazine published in the early 20th century. It features a...

The Feast of St. Friend by Arnold Bennett
In The Feast of St. Friend, a Christmas book, Arnold Bennett shares his views on Christmas as the season of goodwill. As always, Bennett's writing inc...

To a Blank Sheet of Paper by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
“To a Blank Sheet of Paper” is a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., reflecting on the creative process and the blank page's potential. Written in a c...

Raven and The Philosophy Of Composition by Edgar Allan Poe
This book presents Edgar Allan Poe's renowned poem "The Raven" alongside his essay "The Philosophy of Composition." In "The Raven," Poe explores theme...

Art of Fiction by Henry James
This book presents two significant pieces of literary criticism: a lecture by Walter Besant on the art of fiction and a response to that lecture by He...
Reviews for Cratylus
No reviews posted or approved, yet...