Reading room

Theaetetus

Socrates

Shortly before his trial Socrates asks the young mathematician Theaetetus what knowledge is and examines three answers: perception, true belief and true belief with an account. Here he describes himself as a midwife of souls, son of the midwife Phaenarete, who helps others give birth to their ideas and tests whether the offspring are viable. The dialogue ends in aporia, with Socrates on his way to the King Archon's porch.