Clitophon (dialogue)

The Clitophon (Ancient Greek: Κλειτοφῶν, also transliterated as Cleitophon; Latin: Clitopho) is a 4th-century BC dialogue traditionally ascribed to Plato, though the work's authenticity is debated.^[1]^[2] It is the shortest dialogue in Plato's traditional corpus. It centers on a discussion between Clitophon and Socrates, with Socrates remaining mostly silent. Most scholarship until recently has been concerned with the authenticity rather than the actual meaning and contents of Clitophon.^[3]

The dialogue depicts Clitophon complaining to Socrates that Socrates' speeches are merely exhortative; they create a desire for justice and virtue, but do not instruct how one becomes just or what justice is.^[4] Throughout the dialogue Clitophon seems to narrate his changes towards justice and the protreptic from seeing Socrates as a god upon a stage with hopes and beliefs in attaining justice and virtue to thoughts of doubt and disappointment and eventual defiance of Socrates.^[5] Clitophon addresses Clitophon's contempt for protreptic, or exhortative, speeches. It showcases the ignorance of Socrates and depicts, as Mark Kremer puts it, the conflict of philosophy of Socrates and Clitophon's irrationality.^[6]

^ Bryan (2012), p. 2
^ Grube (1931), p. 302
^ Ausland (2005), p. 412
^ Kremer (2004), p. 3
^ Kremer (2004), p. 35
^ Kremer (2004), p. 2

[1] Bryan (2012), p. 2

[2] Grube (1931), p. 302

[Ausland_412-3] Ausland (2005), p. 412

[4] Kremer (2004), p. 3

[5] Kremer (2004), p. 35

[6] Kremer (2004), p. 2

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