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Continuing from part one on Plato's mid-period dialogue about language. Is attaching a word to a thing, i.e. naming it, like other activities such as carpentry or sewing that can go wrong? Can we put the "form" of a thing into letters and syllabus of its name? Socrates argues (at least through most of the dialogue) that we can, that some names can be more appropriate than others.
In this part, we get down to the hardcore etymology, relating Socrates' takes on Greek mythological names, ethical and metaphysical concepts, and more. We notably spend time on psuche (soul), phronesis vs. sophia (different kinds of wisdom), dikaiosune (justice), and techne (craft).
Take a look at the Stanford Encyclopedia article that goes into more detail about different scholars' interpretations of this dialogue: Should we believe that Socrates is just joking? (Or even if he's not, does PLATO think that this activity is a joke?) For another long-form joke, you may or may not be aware of Mark's "12 Interminable Days of Xmas."
There will be a part three to this episode where Mark and Wes Closeread the end of the dialogue
Next Time: We'll talk about two articles by Paul Grice, "Meaning" (1957) and "Utterer's Meaning and Intention" (1969).
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