Cratylus (dialogue)

Cratylus (/ˈkrætɪləs/ KRAT-il-əs; Ancient Greek: Κρατύλος, Kratylos) is the name of a dialogue by Plato. Most modern scholars agree that it was written mostly during Plato's so-called middle period.^[1] In the dialogue, Socrates is asked by two men, Cratylus and Hermogenes, to tell them whether names are "conventional" or "natural", that is, whether language is a system of arbitrary signs or whether words have an intrinsic relation to the things they signify.

The individual Cratylus was the first intellectual influence on Plato.^[2] Aristotle states that Cratylus influenced Plato by introducing to him the teachings of Heraclitus, according to M. W. Riley.^[3]

^ Sedley, David (2003). Plato's Cratylus (PDF). Cambridge University Press. pp. 6, 13–14. ISBN 0-521-58492-2.
^ Sedley, D (6 November 2003). Plato's Cratylus. Cambridge University Press. p. 2. ISBN 1139439197. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
^ Riley, Michael W. (2005). Plato's Cratylus: Argument, Form, and Structure. Rodopi. p. 29. ISBN 9789042018754. Retrieved 27 March 2015.

[1] Sedley, David (2003). Plato's Cratylus (PDF). Cambridge University Press. pp. 6, 13–14. ISBN 0-521-58492-2.

[2] Sedley, D (6 November 2003). Plato's Cratylus. Cambridge University Press. p. 2. ISBN 1139439197. Retrieved 26 March 2015.

[3] Riley, Michael W. (2005). Plato's Cratylus: Argument, Form, and Structure. Rodopi. p. 29. ISBN 9789042018754. Retrieved 27 March 2015.

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