A Process of Reaching Knowledge in Plato's Laches

Abstract

One of the persisting problems about the Laches is whether or not we should take Nikias' proposal, that courage is the knowledge of goods and evils, as the demonstration of the supposedly Socratic intellectualism about virtue. Even if we should take the thesis that virtue is knowledge to be Socratic, we must not accept the Nikias' proposal, because there is some crucial difference between Socrates' and Nikias' thought process. This difference is made clear by my analysis of 'craft analogy', 'phronesis', and 'goodness'. The Nikias' proposal is based on a kind of self-interest, and takes no notice of the concepts of man and soul. In contrast with it, an ethical aspect of Socrates' method will be clear.