Bloomsbury Plato's Socratic Conversation: Drama and Dialectic - Bloomsbury

This scholarly study examines three key Platonic dialogues - Laches, Protagoras, and Socrates' exchange with Agathon in the Symposium - through a detailed analytical lens that emphasizes their fundamentally interrogatory nature. The author argues that readers should not attribute a thesis to Socrates unless he explicitly asserts it as his own belief, demonstrating that Socrates engages in genuine cross-examination rather than presenting pre-formed arguments. By focusing on how Socrates draws his reasoning from his interlocutor's own admissions, this work offers a fresh interpretation of these foundational philosophical texts. The analysis reveals the dramatic structure underlying Plato's dialogues and how dialectical method functions as both philosophical tool and literary device. Ideal for students and scholars of ancient philosophy seeking rigorous engagement with Socratic methodology and its presentation in dramatic form.