From Names to Things

The Cratylus closes with two sets of arguments which look, at first glance, like corollaries. The first concerns the use and value of names: Socrates argues, contra Cratylus, that names are not a valuable means to knowledge of the natures of things (435d1-9b9). In the second set of arguments, Socrates adopts his own recommendation to turn from the study of names to the things themselves, and argues against Cratylus’ claim that those things are in flux (439b10-440d6).