Elements for the determination of the beautiful thing in Plato fs dialogues

Abstract

The relevance of the notion of "beauty " in the socratic-platonic tradition is an nncontested
topic. However. how can u e describe objects. events. discourses as beautiful without knowirtg
what "beauty " means?
In this paper. I revise Plato s early reflections on beauty without considering Plato s later
w orks in which the concept is just used rather than defined.
Initially Plato s notion of "beauty " is unresolved and everyday language. as exemplifted
by Hippias. is used to describe concrete situations. But later. Plato follows Sócrates' definition
as an effort to find a common notion of the concept. Finally. Plato s notion of "beauty " is
transposed to the notion of idea.