Clitophon's Challenge

Dialectic in Plato's Meno, Phaedo, and Republic

Hugh H. Benson

Defends a controversial thesis central to Plato's philosophical method and Plato's philosophy as a whole
Offers a new interpretation of the method of hypothesis
Explores central Platonic dialogues

Clitophon's Challenge

Dialectic in Plato's Meno, Phaedo, and Republic

Hugh H. Benson

Description

Hugh H. Benson explores Plato's answer to Clitophon's challenge, the question of how one can acquire the knowledge Socrates argues is essential to human flourishing-knowledge we all seem to lack. Plato suggests two methods by which this knowledge may be gained: the first is learning from those who already have the knowledge one seeks, and the second is discovering the knowledge one seeks on one's own.

The book begins with a brief look at some of the Socratic dialogues where Plato appears to recommend the former approach while simultaneously indicating various difficulties in pursuing it. The remainder of the book focuses on Plato's recommendation in some of his most important and central dialogues-the Meno, Phaedo, and Republic-for carrying out the second approach: de novo inquiry. The book turns first to the famous paradox concerning the possibility of such an inquiry and explores Plato's apparent solution. Having defended the possibility of de novo inquiry as a response to Clitophon's challenge, Plato explains the method or procedure by which such inquiry is to be carried out. The book defends the controversial thesis that the method of hypothesis, as described and practiced in the Meno, Phaedo, and Republic, is, when practiced correctly, Plato's recommended method of acquiring on one's own the essential knowledge we lack. The method of hypothesis when practiced correctly is, then, Platonic dialectic, and this is Plato's response to Clitophon's challenge.

"This is a new book on a critically important topic, methodology, as it is explored in three of the most important works by one of the most important philosophers in the very long history of philosophy, written by a scholar of international stature who is working from many years of experience and currently at the top of his game. It promises to be one of the most important books ever written on this subject. "-Nicholas Smith, James F. Miller Professor of Humanities, Lewis and Clark College

"The thesis is bold and the results are important for our understanding of some of the most studied and controversial dialogues by and philosophical theses in Plato. In my view, Hugh Benson's examination of the method of hypothesis in the Meno and the Phaedo is a tour de force of subtle and careful scholarship: I think that this part of the book will be adopted as the standard interpretation of this basic notion in Plato. An excellent and important book. "-Charles Brittain, Susan Linn Sage Professor of Philosophy and Humane Letters, Cornell University

Clitophon's Challenge

Dialectic in Plato's Meno, Phaedo, and Republic

Hugh H. Benson

Chapter 1: Clitophon's Challenge
Chapter 2: Learning from Others in the Elenctic Dialogues
Chapter 3: Meno's Paradox & the Theory of Recollection
Chapter 4: The Method of Hypothesis: Not A Mere Second Best
Chapter 5: The Method of Hypothesis: A Preliminary Sketch
Chapter 6: The Method of Hypothesis: Socrates at Work in the Meno
Chapter 7: The Method of Hypothesis: Socrates at Work in the Phaedo
Chapter 8: The Method of Hypothesis: Socrates At Work in the Republic
Chapter 9: Dialectic in the Republic
Bibliography
Index

Clitophon's Challenge

Dialectic in Plato's Meno, Phaedo, and Republic

Hugh H. Benson

Author Information

Hugh H. Benson

Hugh H. Benson is Professor and former Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Oklahoma. He is a Samuel Roberts Noble Presidential Professor, the editor of Essays on the Philosophy of Socrates (OUP 1992), Blackwell Companion to Plato (Blackwell, 2006), and the author of Socratic Wisdom (OUP 2000) and various articles on the philosophy of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

Clitophon's Challenge

Dialectic in Plato's Meno, Phaedo, and Republic

Hugh H. Benson

Reviews and Awards

"This study of Plato's hypothetical method is a more than welcome addition to the literature on philosophical method in Plato's middle dialogues. Benson's study is remarkable for unusual care and thoroughness in the development of its arguments, and the fairness of its treatment of rival interpretations. One can safely predict that future work on the topic will have to come to grips with his arguments and original interpretations." - Daniel Devereux, Journal of the History of Philosophy

"Recommended." - Choice

"Benson's book grapples with an important question, is tightly knit together into a single bold argument, and is written in a remarkably lucid way. There is thoughtful critical discussion of previous interpretations at every step. The footnotes provide excellent guidance on all sorts of major questions, even when these questions are only marginally related to the issues at hand ... the book is intellectually stimulating throughout." - Georgia Sermamoglou-Soulmaidi, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"This book provides a clear and careful account of Plato's method of inquiry in the Meno, Phaedo, and Republic. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Plato's methodology ... the book has important insights in every chapter. Moreover, its clarity makes it rewarding to engage with." - David Ebrey, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews