Seventh Letter
E719411
The Seventh Letter is a controversial and semi-autobiographical epistle attributed to Plato, notable for its reflections on philosophy, politics, and the limits of written teaching.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Platonic letter
ⓘ
ancient Greek philosophical text ⓘ epistle ⓘ |
| addressesTo | associates and friends of Dion ⓘ |
| attributedTo | Plato NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| authenticity | disputed ⓘ |
| concerns |
Plato’s involvement with Dionysius II of Syracuse
ⓘ
Plato’s relationship with Dion of Syracuse ⓘ political events in Syracuse ⓘ |
| contains |
account of Dion’s exile and death
ⓘ
analysis of why political reforms in Syracuse failed ⓘ discussion of the ideal statesman ⓘ narrative of Plato’s journeys to Sicily ⓘ |
| corpus | Letters of Plato NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| dateOfComposition | 4th century BCE ⓘ |
| describedAs | semi-autobiographical ⓘ |
| focusesOnPerson |
Dion of Syracuse
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Dionysius II of Syracuse NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre |
autobiographical writing
ⓘ
philosophical letter ⓘ political philosophy ⓘ |
| historicalContext | post-Peloponnesian War Greek politics ⓘ |
| influenced |
interpretations of Plato’s unwritten doctrines
ⓘ
later debates on esoteric versus exoteric teaching in Platonism ⓘ |
| language | Ancient Greek ⓘ |
| mainTheme |
critique of writing as a vehicle for highest knowledge
ⓘ
limits of written philosophical teaching ⓘ nature of philosophical knowledge ⓘ relationship between philosophy and politics ⓘ role of the philosopher in political life ⓘ |
| numberInCorpus | 7 ⓘ |
| philosophicalPosition |
highest philosophical insight cannot be adequately expressed in writing
ⓘ
philosophy requires long-term training of character and intellect ⓘ true knowledge arises from dialectical inquiry ⓘ |
| philosophicalSchool | Platonism NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| regionOfOrigin | Ancient Greece NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedWork |
Eighth Letter
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Laws NERFINISHED ⓘ Republic NERFINISHED ⓘ Sixth Letter NERFINISHED ⓘ Statesman ⓘ |
| scholarlyDebate |
historical reliability of its autobiographical narrative
ⓘ
its role in reconstructing Plato’s unwritten teachings ⓘ question of Platonic authorship ⓘ |
| setting | Sicily NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| tradition | Platonic tradition ⓘ |
| transmittedIn | manuscripts of Plato’s works ⓘ |
| usedAsEvidenceFor |
Plato’s political activities in Syracuse
ⓘ
Plato’s views on the inadequacy of writing ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.