Euthydemus

Platonis Opera, Tomus III: Tetralogia V-VII. Burnet, John, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903.

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This philosophical dialogue, framed as a conversation between Socrates and his friend Crito, contrasts the fallacious "eristic" (refutation) skills of the Sophist brothers, Euthydemus and Dionysodorus, with Socrates' genuine philosophical inquiry. The work begins in the Lyceum, where the Sophists attempt to confuse the young Clinias using wordplay and semantic traps that offer no room for escape. Socrates intervenes, demonstrating the true art of protreptic (exhortation) by arguing that wisdom is the only true good and is essential for using all other assets correctly to achieve happiness. To find this ultimate knowledge, Socrates and Clinias search for a "royal art" that unites both the production and use of goods, but their inquiry leads to an intellectual impasse (aporia). Meanwhile, the Sophists escalate their absurd arguments, claiming that it is impossible to lie or contradict, and concluding with bizarre paradoxes about kinship and the gods. In the final epilogue, Socrates urges Crito not to be swayed by critics of philosophy, but to judge the value of philosophy itself, leaving a profound reflection on the pursuit of truth.