Plato's Cratylus: Argument, Form, and Structure

This book explains how the Cratylus, Plato's apparently meandering and comical dialogue on the correctness of names, makes serious philosophical progress by its notorious etymological digressions. While still a wild ride through a Heraclitean flood of etymologies which threatens to swamp language altogether, the Cratylus emerges as an astonishingly organized evaluation of the power of words. “Among the varied theories and approaches rivaling one another and enlivening Platonic scholarship today, Riley's entry must be regarded as a significant event. … In the light of Riley's study, the Cratylus will gain added stature as evidence for the larger identity of Platonic thought.” Thomas G. Rosenmeyer, University of California, Berkeley