Dialectic in the Phaedrus
Abstract
This article offers a new interpretation of Plato’s method of collection and division as formulated in the Phaedrus (265c5-266c1), in light of a detailed examination of the surrounding context. It argues that Socrates carefully distinguishes the characteristic operations of the method from its applications . It shows that collection and division are to be construed independently of one another, and that the collection of F -ness is equivalent to the procedure for the definition of F -ness; and it clarifies three kinds of application that are mentioned in the Phaedrus : simple definition, definition supplemented with division, and scientific analysis.