Theaetetus (Classics of Ancient Greek Philosophy)

Plato's dialogue Theaetetus asks the question of what knowledge is, how human beings acquire it, and how knowledge relates to both perception and judgement. This dialogue is told as a frame story, whereby Euclid and a friend are read a dialogue from the time Theaetetus was a young man. In it Theaetetus, a teacher of geometry, is talking with Socrates. At first they discuss the students, but soon move on to the core subject of knowledge and what it is to know things. It is in this dialogue that Socrates famously compares himself to a midwife, which was his mother's profession. Whereas she showed expertise in bringing a newborn child into the world, Socrates' rather is skilled at bringing new knowledge forth from the minds of those on the cusp of birthing such thoughts. A classic Platonic dialogue, this edition of Theaetetus is the translation of renowned classical scholar Benjamin Jowett.