Plato's Dialogues

Normally, dialogues refer to conversations that involve two or more people, but in literature, they can be a conversational form of expression that communicates the ideas and beliefs of the author. A literary dialogue is rather similar to a conversation that takes place in a drama, only that it is not acted out on stage by real people in costumes, and it is more philosophy-oriented. It involves two or more characters, who are either representative of real people or created by the author. These characters usually represent different philosophical points of view, and they will provide their arguments on the subject that is being discussed in the dialogue.

Plato , the famous Greek philosopher , is one of the most accomplished writers of dialogues in the history of western literature. Many of his dialogues, especially the earlier ones, featured Socrates as the main character. Plato learned philosophy under Socrates, and he was present at the trial where Socrates was sentenced to death. He was so affected by the execution of Socrates that he decided to dedicate his life to the creation of an ideal society.

Plato wrote many dialogues to discuss morality, justice, and other vital issues, but he did not impose his point of view on his readers. Most of his dialogues offer two perceptions to readers, which are the ideal world and the real world as perceived by different individuals. The dialogues present an implicit or explicit cause for argument, and Socrates is the character who probes the other characters until they reveal their most profound beliefs. Plato’s dialogues usually end without a clear resolution, which is quite similar to real-life discussions.

Plato wrote a total of 26 dialogues during his lifetime, and these dialogues are presently categorized according to different periods of his life. The first group of dialogues is called the “Early Dialogues”, and they are also known as the “Socratic Dialogues” , because Socrates is featured in all of them. These dialogues include:

• Apology
• Charmides
• Crito
• Euthyphro
• Ion
• Laches
• Lesser Hipias
• Lysis
• Menexenus
• Protagoras
• Euthydemus
• Gorgias
• Meno

The second group of Plato dialogues is called the “Middle Dialogues”, and they show Socrates becoming more participative in the discussions. In the earlier dialogues, Socrates only asks questions, but in these ones, he also answers some of his own questions. Plato started presenting his own points of view in these dialogues.

• Cratylus
• Parmenides
• Phaedo
• Phaedrus
• Republic
• Symposium
• Theaetetus

The dialogues that were written in Plato’s later years are called the “Late Dialogues”. Socrates does not appear as the main character in these dialogues, or he is completely absent in some of them. These dialogues provide more profound arguments of the philosophical ideas that were discussed in the earlier dialogues.

• Critias
• Laws
• Philebus
• Sophist
• Statesman
• Timaeus

The ideas that were presented in Plato’s dialogues had a significant impact on Greek philosophy as well as western culture. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle , who was Plato’s pupil , were the three great thinkers who built the foundation for the development of western philosophy, and many of the principles and beliefs that are valued by westerners today can be traced back to the philosophical ideas of these three men. Also, the concept of Plato’s Utopian society , which is based on the specialization of talents and skills, formed the basic ruling philosophy of the Greek republic as well as other republics around the world. After his death in about 347 BC, Plato’s dialogues influenced many great western thinkers, including Friedrich Nietzsche and Albert Einstein.