Secondary sourceBookearly-to-middle 4th century BCE (this edition 1578)

Theaetetus

Plato · early-to-middle 4th century BCE (this edition 1578)

A dialogue by Plato in which Socrates and the young mathematician Theaetetus try to define knowledge, ending as Socrates leaves for his trial.

Socrates is the main speaker, describing his method as midwifery of ideas before leaving for his impiety trial.

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Page 142 of a 1578 printed edition of Plato's Theaetetus, edited by Henri Estienne. Two columns of Greek text run down the page, with a Latin translation in a narrow column on the left. A decorative woodcut ornament and the title lines in Greek and Latin sit at the top, with dialogue speaker names and a large decorative initial letter. — Plato, Theaetetus, ed. Henri Estienne, 1578 printed edition.

About this source

What it is

The Theaetetus is a philosophical dialogue written by Plato in the early-to-middle 4th century BCE. It stages a conversation between Socrates, the mathematician Theaetetus, and his teacher Theodorus of Cyrene. The page shown here is from a 1578 printed edition edited by Henri Estienne, with Greek text and a Latin translation.

Why it matters

The dialogue is one of the founding texts of epistemology, the study of knowledge. In it, Socrates compares himself to a midwife, helping others give birth to ideas, as his mother Phaenarete had helped women give birth to children. The dialogue ends without a final answer, and Socrates leaves to face the hearing that led to his trial and execution. It shows how Plato remembered his teacher's method of questioning and the drama of his final days.

Look closer

Why might Plato have chosen the image of a midwife to describe how Socrates helps others think?
What does it mean that the dialogue ends without a clear answer?
How does the printed page differ from how the dialogue would originally have been read aloud?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Socrates on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.