Right! Now we’re going to dive into the real philosophical meat of the argument. We’re going to see Socrates’s counter-arguments.
Writing task
We’ll start with a quick response task. Having done the reading, who do you feel more sympathy with? Socrates? Or Theaetetus? Why?
Write a short piece with one of the titles below:
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EITHER “In defence of Socrates”
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OR “In defence of Theaetetus”
Now we’re going to explore your notes on the Discussion board, to see what questions you have pulled out of the text.
Questions on Socrates’s Counter-argument
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What is the distinction that Socrates makes between seeing with the eyes, and seeing through the eyes?
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What is it that does the seeing if we only see through (and not with) the eyes?
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What is the significance of Socrates’s question about “being and not-being, likeness and unlikeness, same and different, also things being one or having some number”? (185 d1)
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Why does Socrates then conclude that perception is not the same as knowledge?
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What problems can you find with Socrates’s counter-argument?
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Can you find any better counter-arguments?
An overview of the Theaetetus
As today will be a shorter than usual class, I’d encourage you to use the time to watch this great overview of the Theaetetus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iePg6G3Jg4o
Homework
Your homework is to read READING 3. This is section 187b–201c of the text. The reading is a bit longer than usual, so don’t try to understand every word. Just read through, keeping up the momentum, and see if you can get the gist of what is going on. Again, post on the discussion board, ready for next week.
The argument in the next stretch is more complex, so we’ll take it slowly and break it down piece by piece! Don’t worry if it’s all a bit mystifying at the moment. It will become clearer.