The Dialogue Theaetetus

I see, my dear Theaetetus, that Theodorus had a true insight into your nature when he said that you were a philosopher, for wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder. He was not a bad genealogist who said that Iris (the messenger of heaven) is the child of Thaumas (wonder) (Library of the Future Screen 32:158).

An examination of this passage and Plato's writings will show that philosophy and wonder are connected, with wonder being a necessary condition for the philosopher.

Plato uses the word "wonder" often in the dialogues, but generally he does not use it in the same direct sense he does in this dialogue. Usually he is expressing a sense of wonder at various statements or ideas rather than commenting on the idea of or importance of wonder itself. Yet this very repetition of the phrase shows that the philosopher is brought to a state of wonder by issue he does not fully understand, and the act of wondering becomes the starting point for further discussion and examination.

The subject matter of the Theaetetus is significant in this discussion, for it involves

. . .
e has many accusers for this issue and because he cannot name them all, while for the second he can name the three or four men who have brought the charge against him. The older charge is simply that Socrates is an evil-doer and also someone who is peculiar and just does not fit in with everyone else in Athenian society. The reason for this is someone who looks into the things of this world and the next and who teaches his doctrines on these topics to others, that he is a teacher and takes money for his teaching. The second set of accusations also hold that Socrates is an evil-doer and that he is a corrupter of youth, that he does not believe in the gods of Athens, and that instead he ha substituted gods of his own. Socrates defends himself first that these charges are not true and second that these charges derive from prejudice against him. The fact that the prejudice is widespread is shown by the fact that there is a character named Socrates in the play Clouds by Aristophanes, and Socrates goes to some lengths to describe that play and the behavior of the character to show what the view of him is. He says that Aristophanes may not have intended for his play to be taken seriously, but it is clear that many people have done
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Approximate Word count = 3544
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page)

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