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Dialectic is the teaching method Socrates uses throughout Plato’s dialogues. It’s used throughout much of Phaedrus, as Socrates asks Phaedrus questions about the nature of various subjects like love, speech, and writing. The goal of dialectic is not to impart knowledge, but to create wisdom in the soul of both participants by asking questions, recognizing what one doesn’t know, and drawing conclusions about the nature of reality. When Phaedrus and Socrates discuss rhetoric, Socrates argues that dialectic is inherent to good speaking, because it’s concerned with defining and breaking down concepts in order to clearly understand their nature. He also argues that dialectic is superior to written speeches or books, because it’s tailored to specific souls—that is, it is a living conversation instead of a speechless document.
Dialectic Quotes in Phaedrus
The Phaedrus quotes below are all either spoken by Dialectic or refer to Dialectic. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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257c-274a Quotes
Now I am myself, Phaedrus, a lover of these divisions and collections, so that I may be able both to speak and to think; and if I find anyone else who I think has the natural capacity to look to one and to many, I pursue him ‘in his footsteps, behind him, as if he were a god’. And the name I give those who can do this - whether it’s the right one or not, god knows, but at any rate up till now I have called them ‘experts in dialectic’.
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Socrates has been explaining to Phaedrus the importance of properly gathering and dividing different concepts in order to establish a clear beginning in one’s speech. For example, in his second speech, he took care to divide up the topic of madness appropriately (into human and divine categories) so that his audience would clearly understand what he meant by the term, and be able to follow his argument that divine madness is good. Now Socrates explains that this practice of collecting and dividing is nothing other than dialectic—the process, through step by step questioning of an interlocutor, of seeking the truth. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. V
274b-279c Quotes
Yes, Phaedrus, because I think writing has this strange feature, which makes it truly like painting. The offspring of painting stand there as if alive, but if you ask them something, they preserve a quite solemn silence. Similarly with written words: you might think that they spoke as if they had some thought in their heads, but if you ever ask them about any of the things they say out of a desire to learn, they point to just one thing, the same each time. And then once it is written, every composition trundles about everywhere in the same way, in the presence both of those who know about the subject and of those who have nothing at all to do with it, and it does not know how to address those it should address and not those it should not. When it is ill-treated and unjustly abused, it always needs its father to help it; for it is incapable of either defending or helping itself.
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As Phaedrus and Socrates continue their discussion of writing, Socrates turns from the fable of Theuth and Thamus and shares his own reflections on the limitations of this practice. He compares it to painting, which conveys the appearance of living beings. If one tries to speak to a painting in the hope of learning something, however, he’s quickly disappointed; the figures maintain an eternal silence. Similarly, written words convey an impression of wisdom, but they can’t be questioned or directly interacted with in any way—they just “trundle about.” The problem with this, from a Socratic perspective, is that learning takes Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Pos
But I think it is far finer if one is in earnest about those subjects: when one makes use of the science of dialectic and, taking a fitting soul, plants and sows in it words accompanied by knowledge, which are sufficient to help themselves and the one who planted them, and are not without fruit but contain a seed from which others grow in other soils, capable of rendering that seed forever immortal, and making the one who has it as happy as it is possible for a man to be.
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As their discussion of writing comes to a close, Socrates has just told Phaedrus that he thinks of writing as more of an amusing indulgence than a serious pursuit—something that people might use to store up reminders for themselves in old age, but not something that’s really beneficial to anyone outside of the self. On the other hand, he asserts that dialectic is the appropriate method by which to deal with serious subjects. That’s because it can be “planted” and “sown” within the soul of the person who’s best fitted to receive the knowledge of the farmer, or teacher. Unlike Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Volup
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Dialectic Term Timeline in Phaedrus
The timeline below shows where the term Dialectic appears in Phaedrus. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
257c-274a
...the speaker’s argument. Socrates explains that he calls this ability to collect and divide properly “dialectic.”
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274b-279c
Socrates compares the science of dialectic to farming—it takes “a fitting soul, plants and sows in it words accompanied by knowledge,...
(full context)
