Plato's Cratylus: The Comedy of Language

Plato's dialogue Cratylus focuses on being and human dependence on words, or the essential truths about the human condition. Arguing that comedy is an essential part of Plato's concept of language, S. Montgomery Ewegen asserts that understanding the comedic is key to an understanding of Plato's deeper philosophical intentions. Ewegen shows how Plato's view of language is bound to comedy through words and how, for Plato, philosophy has much in common with playfulness and the ridiculous. By tying words, language, and our often uneasy relationship with them to comedy, Ewegen frames a new reading of this notable Platonic dialogue.

Author: S. Montgomery Ewegen
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 11/14/2013
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.18lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.69d
ISBN: 9780253010445

About the Author

S. Montgomery Ewegen is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Trinity College.