Article ID: CBB207532051

Extreme and Modest Conventionalism in Plato’s Cratylus (2021)

unapi

The Cratylus’ main concern is to outline and evaluate the competing views of language held by two characters, Hermogenes and Cratylus, who disagree about whether convention or nature (respectively) are the source of onomastic correctness. Hermogenes has been thought to hold two radically different views by different scholars, one extreme conventionalism whereby all names are correct relative to their speakers, and another modest conventionalism according to which distinct naming actions – establishment and employment – explain why some names are correct and others are not, depending on the speaker. In this paper I argue that, though Hermogenes ultimately endorses a conventionalism of the latter kind, it is a mistake to assign him this position from the outset. Rather, to understand the structure of the conversation about conventionalism, we must view Hermogenes’ position, and Socrates’ understanding of it, as developing instead of settled. For it is only by discussing the matter that Hermogenes comes to express a moderate conventionalist view and Socrates comes to appreciate the position Hermogenes actually holds.

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Authors & Contributors
Gerson, Lloyd P.
Bram Demulder
Shogry, Simon
Balla, Chloe
Baziotopoulou-Valavani, Effie
Soltes, Ori Z.
Concepts
Philosophy
Platonism
Neoplatonism
Stoicism
Language and languages
Ontology
Time Periods
Ancient
4th century, B.C.
Early modern
Renaissance
Medieval
18th century
Places
Greece
Rome (Italy)
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