Cover of Euthydemus

Euthydemus

by Plato

First published
2013
Reading level
Plain English
Price
Free

About the book

"Euthydemus" by Plato is a dialogue written around 384 BC. In this satirical work, Socrates recounts to his friend Crito a meeting with two Sophist brothers who claim philosophical superiority. Through a series of increasingly absurd logical tricks and fallacies, the brothers attempt to trap Socrates in verbal puzzles designed to be impossible to refute. Plato contrasts genuine Socratic education with what he presents as the deceptive methods of Sophist argumentation, exposing the emptiness behind their intellectual showmanship.

  • Classical literature
  • Logic
  • Socrates, 470 BC-399 BC
  • Philosophy, Ancient
  • Sophists (Greek philosophy)

Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #1598. Euthydemus on Wikipedia.

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