NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Laches (dialogue)

Laches, also known as Courage, is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato, and concerns the topic of courage. Lysimachus, son of Aristides, and Melesias, son of Thucydides (not the historian Thucydides), request advice from Laches and Nicias on whether or not they should have their sons (who are named after their famous grandfathers) trained to fight in armor. After each gives their opinion, one for and one against, they seek Socrates for council. Instead of answering the question, Socrates questions what the initial purpose of the training is meant to instill in the children. Once they determine that the purpose is to instill virtue, and more specifically courage, Socrates discusses with Laches and Nicias what exactly courage is. The bulk of the dialogue is then comprised of the three men (Laches, Nicias and Socrates) debating various definitions of courage. The TheÃ¦tetus is a dialogue by Plato. ... Parmenides is one of the dialogues of Plato. ... The Sophist (Greek: Î£Î¿Ï†Î¹ÏƒÏ„Î®Ï‚) is one of the late Dialogues of Plato, which was written much more lately than the Parmenides and the Theaetetus, probably in 360 BC.After he criticized his own Theory of Forms in the Parmenides, Plato proceeds in the Sophist with a new conception of the Forms... Philebus is among the last of the late Socratic dialogues of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. ... The Statesman, or Politikos in Greek and Politicus in Latin, is a four part dialogue contained within the work of Plato. ... Timaeus is a theoretical treatise of Plato in the form of a Socratic dialogue, written circa 360 B.C. The work puts forward speculation on the nature of the physical world. ... The Laws is Platos last and longest dialogue. ... The Second Alcibiades or Alcibiades II is a dialogue ascribed to Plato, featring Alcibiades conversing with Socrates, but there is a general consensus amongst scholars that this text is spurious, though again probably written by someone within a century or two of Platos other works. ... The Epinomis is a dialogue in the style of Plato, but today considered spurious by most scholars. ... The Clitophon, a dialogue generally ascribed to Plato, is significant for focusing on Socrates role as an exhorter of other people to engage in philosophic inquiry. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... Fortitudo, by Sandro Botticelli Courage, also known as fortitude, is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty or intimidation. ... Aristides (530 BCâ€“468 BC) was an Athenian statesman, nicknamed the Just. He was the son of Lysimachus, and a member of a family of moderate fortune. ... Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ... Laches (Gr. ... Nicias (d. ... Socrates (Greek: Î£Ï‰ÎºÏÎ¬Ï„Î·Ï‚, invariably anglicized as , SÇ’cratÄ“s; 470â€“399 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher who is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy. ... Virtue (Latin virtus; Greek ) is moral excellence of a man or a woman. ... Fortitudo, by Sandro Botticelli Courage, also known as fortitude, is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty or intimidation. ...

Laches offers an offhand opinion that courage is "a certain perseverance of the soul". However, Socrates immediately challenges this idea by arguing that there are many instances in battle when the prudent thing to do is to withdraw or flee. Since courage is a virtue, Socrates argues, it cannot contradict prudence, and therefore the idea that courage always demands perseverance must be false. Laches is forced to admit this contradiction and is subsequently silenced by Socrates' critique.

Nicias then offers another definition, this time from a more philosophical angle. He suggests that courage is "knowledge of future good and evil". Socrates pursues two lines of argument in order to contradict this definition. Firstly, he argues that to know all good and evil means to possess all virtue. Secondly, he argues that in order to fully understand future good and evil, one must also understand past and present good and evil. Socrates is able to convince Nicias that these two lines of argument are true. He then asserts that Nicias' definition actually amounts to a deinition of all virtue (since it implies knowledge of all good and evil) and therefore, since courage is in fact only a part of virtue, a contradiction arises and the definition must be false. And so, in the end, Socrates finds both his companions' theories to be unsatisfactory, and the dialogue ends inconclusively.

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Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ...

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Categories: Dialogues of Plato | Literature stubs | Philosophy stubs Benjamin Jowett (April 15, 1817 â€“ October 1, 1893) was an English scholar and theologian, Master of Balliol College, Oxford. ... Image File history File links Plato. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... The Charmides (Greek: ) is a dialogue of Plato, discussing the nature and utility of temperance. ... Lysis is one of the socratic dialogues written by Plato and discusses the nature of friendship. ... Protagoras is the title of one of Platos dialogues. ... Euthydemus (Euthydemos), written 380 BCE, is dialogue by Plato which satirizes the logical fallacies of the Sophists. ... Cratylus (ÎšÏÎ±Ï„Ï…Î»Î¿Ï‚) is the name of a dialogue by Plato, written in approximately 360 BC. In the dialogue, Socrates is asked by two men, Cratylus and Hermogenes, to advise them whether names are conventional or natural, that is, whether language is a system of arbitrary signs or whether words have an... Platos Phaedrus is a dialogue between Socrates and Phaedrus. ... Platos Ion aims to give an account of poetry in dialogue form. ... A fresco taken from the north wall of the Tomb of the Diver featuring an image of a symposium The Symposium is a Socratic dialogue by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, student of Socrates, focusing on Eros (love) and its place in the philosophic path. ... Meno is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato. ... Euthyphro is one of Platos known early dialogues. ... (The) Apology (of Socrates) is Platos version of the speech given by Socrates as he defends himself against the charges of being a man who corrupted the young, did not believe in the gods, and created new deities. Apology here has its earlier meaning (now usually expressed by the... The Crito (IPA [kriËtÉ”Ën]; in English usually [ËˆkÉ¹iËtÉ˜ÊŠË]) is a well-known dialogue by the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, between Socrates and his follower the rich Athenian Crito (or Criton), regarding the source and nature of political obligation. ... The Phaedo (pronounced FEE-doh) is the fourth and last dialogue detailing the final days of Socrates and contains the death scene. ... Gorgias refers to the last dialogue that Plato wrote before leaving Athens. ... The Republic (Greek ) is an influential work of philosophy and political theory by the Greek philosopher Plato, written in approximately 390 BC. It is written in the format of a Socratic dialogue. ... Timaeus is a theoretical treatise of Plato in the form of a Socratic dialogue, written circa 360 B.C. The work puts forward speculation on the nature of the physical world. ... Critias, a dialogue of Platos, speaks about a variety of subjects. ... Parmenides is one of the dialogues of Plato. ... The TheÃ¦tetus is a dialogue by Plato. ... The Sophist (Greek: Î£Î¿Ï†Î¹ÏƒÏ„Î®Ï‚) is one of the late Dialogues of Plato, which was written much more lately than the Parmenides and the Theaetetus, probably in 360 BC.After he criticized his own Theory of Forms in the Parmenides, Plato proceeds in the Sophist with a new conception of the Forms... The Statesman, or Politikos in Greek and Politicus in Latin, is a four part dialogue contained within the work of Plato. ... Philebus is among the last of the late Socratic dialogues of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. ... The Laws is Platos last and longest dialogue. ...

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