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Diogenes' Taxonomy of Platonic Dialogues

by Spencer Scorcelletti

Commentary #2 ()

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According to Diogenes1, Platonic dialogues are roughly classified as follows.

See Thrasyllus of Mendes’ Platonic Canon for how each dialogue was originally categorized by Diogenes.

Diogenes' taxonomy of Platonic dialogues. Commentary along edges between nodes are my own.PlatonicdialoguesFocus on answersInstructivePossibilitiestheoreticaltangiblephysicalabstractlogicalActualitiespracticalindividual levelethicalsocietal levelpoliticalFocus onquestionsInquisitivecooperativeinterlocutortraining themindinquiryunresolvedtentativeinquiry resolvedobstetricuncooperativeinterlocutorvictory incontroversyraisesobjectionscriticaloverturns thepositionrefutative
Diogenes' taxonomy of Platonic dialogues. Commentary along edges between nodes are my own.

What follows is the same information in a tabular format:

DivisionDescriptionPurposeGeneral
physicalnature and the cosmostheoreticalInstructive
logicalreasoning and definitiontheoreticalInstructive
ethicalaffairs of the individualpracticalInstructive
politicalaffairs of the statepracticalInstructive
tentativean unresolved inquiry (aporia)training the mindInquisitive
obstetric(midwifery) a resolved inquirytraining the mindInquisitive
criticalraises objectionsvictory in controversyInquisitive
refutativeoverturns the positionvictory in controversyInquisitive

  1. Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 3.49–51 (LCL, archive) ↩

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