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Lesser Hippias

by Plato

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Pages: 23

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Read by Kevin Johnson · 1 h 8 min · 2 parts

Chapter 1
24:20
Chapter 2
44:03

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About this book

Socrates turns Hippias’s confidence in his mathematical skill into a puzzle about truth and falsehood. In this short philosophical dialogue attributed to Plato, the two speakers examine whether a person who knows the correct answer is also best equipped to give a deliberately false one. Arithmetic supplies a practical test, and geometry extends the discussion. Their exchange asks how knowledge, ability and goodness fit together, with each answer becoming the starting point for another challenge.

Benjamin Jowett’s translation comes with an introduction that weighs the dialogue’s disputed authorship. It considers ancient references, similarities among Greek dialogues and the problems of assigning an old text to a famous writer. Readers can follow both a compact example of Socratic questioning and an argument about literary evidence.

About the author

Plato

Plato (c. 428-348 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, and founder of the Academy in Athens. His dialogues are among the most influential works in the history of thought.