Riassunto
Riassunto di Protagora
A chi è rivolto
For anyone curious about education, ethics and how to argue well, and for first-time readers of Plato who enjoy lively debate, vivid characters and humor.
Che cos’è questo libro
Protagoras is a dialogue written by Plato in the early fourth century BC, a generation after the Athens it describes. Socrates tells a friend about a day when he met the most admired teacher of his time, the sophist Protagoras of Abdera. The scene is the house of a rich Athenian named Callias, crowded with famous guests. The talk begins with one question that sounds simple. Can goodness be taught, and if it can, who is able to teach it?
You get a lively argument in which both men end up near the position the other began with. You also get a founding story about human beings, a quarrel over how to hold a discussion, a playful reading of a poem, and a bold claim that wrong action is a mistake of knowledge. Plato wrote it as a drama, with jokes, moods and sharp portraits. Behind it sits a question that never went away. Is the good something you learn, like a craft, or something you are born with? Let us start with the young man who woke Socrates before dawn.
In questo riassunto
- 1Be careful what you buy for your mindFree
- 2Protagoras says he teaches citizenship
- 3A myth: justice and shame belong to everyone
- 4Is virtue one thing or many?
- 5How to argue, and what a poem means
- 6Knowledge, pleasure and a surprising reversal
Punto chiave 1 di 6
Be careful what you buy for your mind
The dialogue opens in the dark. A young man named Hippocrates bangs on Socrates' door before dawn with news that Protagoras is in town. He is burning to become his student, and he wants Socrates to introduce him.
Socrates does not say no. He asks a question instead. If you went to a doctor or a sculptor for lessons, you would expect to become a doctor or a sculptor. So what will Hippocrates become if he studies with Protagoras? Hippocrates blushes, and the best he can say is that he will become a clever speaker. Socrates presses him to name the subject of that cleverness, and Hippocrates cannot.
Then Socrates makes his main point about the opening scene. A sophist, he says, is a merchant who sells goods for the soul. Food can be carried home in a jar and tested before you eat it. Teaching goes straight into the mind, and once learned it cannot be returned. So you should take advice from someone wiser before you buy.
The lesson reaches well beyond ancient Athens. We still pay for courses, coaches and books that promise to improve us. Plato asks us to check what is really being offered and what it will do to us. The two men walk off to Callias's house, and the scene is set for the contest.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Socrates
- The Athenian questioner accompanies Hippocrates to meet Protagoras and challenges the teacher through close questioning.
- Protagoras
- The celebrated sophist visiting Athens offers instruction in citizenship and becomes Socrates' principal partner in argument.
- Hippocrates
- An eager young Athenian asks Socrates to introduce him to Protagoras so he can become his student.
- Callias
- The wealthy Athenian host welcomes Protagoras and other distinguished teachers into his house for discussion.
- Alcibiades
- A young associate of Socrates joins the gathering and intervenes when the speakers disagree about discussion.
- Hippias of Elis
- A visiting sophist with his own followers participates in the gathering hosted by Callias.
- Prodicus of Ceos
- A sophist attentive to distinctions between words attends Callias's gathering and contributes to the discussion.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 28,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 1 h 55 min
- Listening time3 h 10 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about Protagora
What is Plato's Protagoras about?
It is about whether virtue can be taught. Socrates and the sophist Protagoras debate this at a gathering in Athens, and the talk widens to ask whether the virtues are one thing and whether wrongdoing is a failure of knowledge.
Who is Protagoras in the dialogue?
Protagoras was a real teacher from Abdera, one of the best-known sophists, who traveled Greece and taught for pay. In the dialogue he claims to teach political skill and good citizenship, and he is a worthy opponent for Socrates.
What is the myth of Prometheus and Epimetheus in Protagoras?
Protagoras tells it to show that virtue can be taught. Humans are left unprotected, Prometheus gives them fire and craft skill, and Zeus sends justice and shame to everyone, so all can share in political life.
Is Protagoras hard to read?
It is one of the easier Platonic dialogues. It has a clear scene, vivid characters and humor, and the arguments move in short steps.
What is the main message of Protagoras?
The main message is that goodness may be a form of knowledge, which would make it teachable and make wrongdoing a mistake. Plato also shows the value of careful questions over impressive speeches.