
HoP 029 - What's in a Name? - Plato's Cratylus
History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps
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Socrates' Etymologies of Greek Words
Socrates gives etymologies for the names of the gods, features of the natural world and ethical virtues. Socrates says several times that he is in the grip of a divine inspiration to produce all these brilliant etymologically. Some readers have wondered how seriously we are meant to take the whole exercise.
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