So far, this is my favorite dialogue by Plato. I’ve only read 5 of them, so I have a ways to go, but this one covers the origin of language and the correctness of names. It answers this question - is there a reason behind the name of a thing or is it just by chance?
Cratylus believes there is a correct name for each thing, one that belongs to it by nature. Hermogenes believes that names are agreed upon by the community. Socrates leads the discussion to determine if “names are given in accord with nature.”
I found this dialogue so interesting and delightful because Socrates spends most of the time guessing at the origin of words of gods, concepts, and names.
In this episode, I share some of my favorite word descriptions and ideas from Cratylus.