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Zur Deutung der Digression des Theaitet
The study aims to offer a rational explanation for the appearance of the so-called ‘digression’ in Plato’s Theaetetus and in so doing raises the question of whether it is indeed a digression. The starting point of the inquiry is the argumentative structure of the digression itself, which in the course of the inquiry will be made apparent, internally, through references to the Theaetetus itself and, externally, through references to similar passages in other dialogues of Plato. In a first step the theoretical content of the passage is analysed in detail under four aspects (the polis, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics). This analysis is followed by the speculative application of what has been established, by pursuing the question of what function the ‘digression’ fulfils in the Theaetetus. The study reaches the conclusion that it has four distinct functions: the digression is an ethical dimension of the concept of knowledge, a component of the critique of the homo mensura dictum, the performative expression of philosophical process and – most importantly – an indirect link to the Platonic system.
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