About this ebook
Euthydemus is a dialogue by Plato, written in the late 4th century BC, that satirically examines knowledge, virtue, and the nature of sophistry. The work opens with Socrates recounting his encounter with the sophist brothers Euthydemus and Dionysodorus. Renowned for their rhetorical wit, the brothers often employ arguments that create confusion and contradiction. Socrates, seeking guidance for the young Cleinias, tests their supposed ability to teach virtue. Yet their paradoxical and playful questioning exposes the emptiness of sophistry, underscoring Socrates’ pursuit of genuine wisdom and virtue.
About the author
Plato was born around 428 BCE in Athens and became a disciple of Socrates, deepening philosophical thought with his central idea of Forms, which sought truth beyond the sensory world. He founded the Academy, the first higher learning institution in the West, where philosophy, mathematics, and politics were taught, laying the foundation of Western intellectual tradition. In works such as The Republic and The Symposium, he explored justice, the soul, love, and the ideal state, profoundly shaping political philosophy and ethics. His influence extended to later thinkers like Aristotle, forming the roots of Western philosophy. He died around 348 BCE, yet his ideas continue to live on across philosophy and the humanities.
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