Conversation and Self-Sufficiency in Plato

Plato's dialogues were part of a body of fourth-century literature in which Socrates questioned (and usually got the better of) friends, associates, and supposed experts. A. G. Long considers how Plato explained the conversational character of Socratic philosophy, and how Plato came to credit first Socrates and then, more generally, the philosopher with an alternative to conversation--internal dialogue or self-questioning. Conversation and self-sufficiency in Plato begins with a study of the Platonic dialogues where conversation and its advantages are discussed, which shows why, and for what purposes, Plato treats conversation as necessary or preferable. The book then traces the emergence of internal dialogue as an alternative to conversation.