“Man is the measure of all things”
This work by Plato is essentially all about one single metaphor. It is the defining metaphor of the work, is explicitly stated within the text several times at different points, and is the crux of the Socratic argument at the heart of the dialogue. Socrates attributes the philosophical metaphor to “the great sage Protagoras.” What does it mean? Well, the answer to question is whole point of the deal, so read it to find out.
Theaetetus
Theodorus is extolling the virtues of a young man, telling Socrates that he actually even resembles him physically. The description of the non-physical attributes is steeped in metaphorical imagery. This young man turns out to be the title character of this work:
“Whereas he moves surely and smoothly and successfully in the path of knowledge and enquiry; and he is full of gentleness, flowing on silently like a river of oil”
Be a King, not a Donkey
Apparently, in ancient Greece, to be a donkey was something one should avoid at all costs. The metaphor here is not explained and can thus only be interpreted through the clues offered by surrounding context. The problem, of course, is that the context is not exactly crystal clear, either:
“What say you? which of us will speak first? whoever misses shall sit down, as at a game of ball, and shall be donkey, as the boys say; he who lasts out his competitors in the game without missing, shall be our king”
The Source of Life
What is the source of all life in the universe? On an atomic level—the level at which all matter long was assumed to be originate—one of the arguments forwarded that could make you a king rather than a donkey had to do with motion and rest. Entropy is death and movement is life and so therefore, motion is is the source of all life. The metaphor here helps to explain:
“…there are plenty of other proofs which will show that motion is the source of what is called being and becoming, and inactivity of not-being and destruction; for fire and warmth, which are supposed to be the parent and guardian of all other things, are born of movement and friction”
The Jerry Socrates Show
The dialogues often present Socrates—the so-called father of philosophy—as something more akin to a talk show host whose job is merely to facilitate discussion. He sometimes comes off as ancient Greek version of Jerry Springer: his presence there to stimulate arguments while offering no solutions. Heck, even Springer tried to do that in his own useless way:
“Socrates: You forget, my friend, that I neither know, nor profess to know, anything of these matters; you are the person who is in labor, I am the barren midwife; and this is why I soothe you, and offer you one good thing after another, that you may taste them.”
