Plato's depiction of the Socratic Turn in the 'Phaedo', 'Parmenides', and 'Symposium'

This dissertation examines Plato's depiction of the distinctive character of Socrates' philosophical development: the "Socratic Turn." This term denotes Socrates' dissatisfaction with prior philosophy or science and his re-orientation of philosophy.On chronological, dramatic, and thematic grounds internal to the dialogues, Chapter One seeks to establish that Plato provides a portrait of the Socratic turn in three stages: Socrates' critique of natural science in the Phaedo, his introduction of the "forms" in the Parmenides , and his instruction in eros in the Symposium.Chapter Two examines Socrates' reasons for criticizing the two versions of "the inquiry into nature" to which he was attracted in his youth, namely, the attempts to answer causal questions by forms of materialism and teleology. Socrates finds that both inquiries abstract from our incorrigible experience of the unity of things and from our experience that it is our opinions of what it is better to do that are "the true cause" of our actions. The chapter argues that Socrates' hypothesis of the forms provides the ground for his return of philosophy to its origins in the comprehensive horizon of opinion.Chapter Three examines the refutation of the young Socrates' first exposition of a particular teaching about the forms. The chapter contends that this refutation yields the central questions that any coherent notion of the forms must face and shows that some such hypothesis is necessary for philosophical dialogue.Chapter Four is an interpretation of Socrates' instruction in eros as a demonstration that the forms are inherent in human experience, but that we normally misunderstand that experience. The chapter argues that the center of this demonstration is Socrates' attempt to vindicate the philosophical life against its poetic and political alternatives.The Conclusion seeks to show how the stages of the Socratic turn underpin Socrates' claim that philosophy is the greatest good for a human despite his profession of ignorance of the greatest issues. The Conclusion argues that, although the Socratic turn opens up the broadest perspective on practical concerns, its primary motivation is the theoretical demand of rigorous philosophy or science and not an ethical demand.