The Meaning of the Dialogue Form in Plato's Philosophy

27 February 2023

The Meaning of the Dialogue Form in Plato’s Philosophy

“We must now mention the reason why Plato used this literary form [the dialogue].  He chose it, we say, because the dialogue is a kind of cosmos.  For in the same way as a dialogue has different personages each speaking in character, so does the universe comprise existences of various nature expressing themselves in various ways; for the utterance of each is according to its nature.  It was in imitation, then, of God’s creation, the cosmos, that he did this.”

(Anonymous, Anonymous Prolegomena to Platonic Philosophy, translated by L. G. Westerink, Prometheus Trust, Wiltshire, UK, 2011, page 28, ISBN: 9781898910510)

 

1.  The anonymous author gives seven reasons, some of them overlapping, for why Plato chose the dialogue form.  This is the first reason.  The full list of reasons is too long to post here; perhaps I will post some of the others in the future.

2.  The author offers the idea that the dialogues of Plato are a ‘kind of cosmos’; meaning that the dialogues imitate, or reflect, or instantiate features of the cosmos.  This means that Plato’s dialogues are teaching the reader at the symbolic level; that beneath the specific topic of a dialogue, and the discussion in that dialogue, the dialogue itself is demonstrating the truth of the Platonic view. 

I find this idea appealing.  As I have mentioned in a previous post (perhaps more than one) I think the dialogues of Plato transmit to the reader a subtle energy of understanding.  I can’t prove this; on the other hand, others have experienced a similar feeling of a transmission of wisdom from reading the dialogues. 

3.  The author offers that the multitude of characters in the dialogues is an imitation of the multitude of entities in the cosmos.  I think that this means that just as the dialogue as a whole is a symbol of the cosmos, the characters as individuals are symbols of aspects of the cosmos.  Each character has archetypal significance.

In addition, most dialogues make specific reference to a deity and/or a ceremony in honor of a deity.  The deity referred to acts as a symbol of the meaning of the dialogue as a whole.

4.  In this way, the dialogues allow for the attentive reader access to higher hypostases by comprehending the dialogue as an emanation of those realms.  In this way, reading the dialogues of Plato becomes an occasion for contemplation.