Aither is a double-blind peer review, Open Access online academic journal. It is indexed at ERIH+ and Scopus. It is published by the Faculty of Arts of the Palacký University in Olomouc in cooperation with the Philosophical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. It comes out twice a year. Every second issue is international and contains foreign-language articles (mainly in English, but also in German and French). The journal is registered under the number ISSN 1803-7860.

Aither 19/2018:30-45 | DOI: 10.5507/aither.2018.002

Language, Writing and Narration about Theuth and Thamus in the Dialogue Phaedrus

Antonín Šíma
Katedra filosofie a dějin přírodních věd, Přírodovědecká fakulta Univerzity Karlovy

This paper interprets the narration about Theuth and Thamus in Plato's dialogue Phaedrus (274c1-275c2). Socrates describes in this narration Theuth's invention of the system of writing and Thamu's assessment of this system. Interpretation pays attention to motives of "play" and "playing" which are used in narration too. Play with written letters is understood like "language plays" with words how they are introduced in writings of late Wittgenstein. Motive of invention of system of writing and connections between letters is interpreted in a broader context of Plato's dialogues where are described examples of rules of dialectical thinking. Rules used for written text are in this interpretation one from more examples of "language plays" in dialogues. Written text serves same way like other examples of dialectical contemplation but with assumption that reader knows he plays in the framework of rules. These rules are determined primary for senses but displays achievement of knowledge about reality of terms of ontology and ethics. On these conditions are texts and written narrations in Plato's dialogues used like examples of dialectical thinking determined for the memory for a reader. Only partial attention is in the paper devoted to the critic of written texts with which is the narration about Theuth and Thamus frequently connected.

Published: March 30, 2018  Show citation

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Šíma, A. (2018). Language, Writing and Narration about Theuth and Thamus in the Dialogue Phaedrus. Aither, 10(19), 30-45. doi: 10.5507/aither.2018.002
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