CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2009
| Author | Ilievski, Viktor |
|---|---|
| Title | Plato's Cratylus and beyond |
| Summary | Plato’s Cratylus has proven through the centuries to be extremely challenging and puzzling philosophical treatise. Its main concern is the correctness of names or, in other words, the ability of words to express the nature of their nominata. Two conflicting theories of naming are presented, along with prolonged section dedicated to etymological analysis, as well as some crucial tenets of Platonic philosophy – the theory of Forms, the introduction of the dialectician as knower of the Forms, and, as I believe some early hints of the method of dialectic. My initial idea behind the inquiry into the Cratylus was to determine whether language is capable of depicting reality. The conclusions that I reach are that semantics of words, phonology and etymology are inconclusive and confusing and thus unable to properly account for the nature of the things the words are attached to. Names do not reflect or picture their nominata. But that outcome does not make language in general impotent in the matter of grasping reality. Shaped into logoi it serves as vehicle of dialectic, the ultimate method for approaching the intelligible realm. |
| Supervisor | Betegh Gabor |
| Department | Philosophy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2009/ilievski_viktor.pdf |
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