@article {13861,
	title = {On the Two Conceptions of the Lawgiver in the Cratylus},
	journal = {Filozofia},
	volume = {79},
	number = {4},
	year = {2024},
	pages = {395 - 410},
	type = {State},
	abstract = {Ιn this paper, I compare the two conceptions of the {\textquotedblleft}lawgiver{\textquotedblright} in the Platonic dialogue Cratylus. I present both the idea that words constitute imitations of things (resemblance naturalism) and the claim that names are tools which {\textquotedblleft}separate{\textquotedblright} and {\textquotedblleft}teach{\textquotedblright} being (the tool analogy). Then I examine the respective figures of the lawgiver (nomothetes) appearing in each of them. These are the lawgiver of the tool analogy (one who makes names on the model of a craftsman producing tools), and that of the lawgiver who introduces names constituting phonetic imitations of things. I argue that with respect to name giving, the former is in a much better position than the latter, and that mimetic naturalism faces the insuperable {\textquotedblleft}paradox of institution.{\textquotedblright} My main claim is that, read in conjunction with the tool analogy, the notion of ἒθος introduced in 434e, offers a helpful framework for successfully overcoming the challenge of establishing the first names. Furthermore, the adoption of this perspective by Socrates allows him to navigate a complex position. This is a position that steers clear of both Cratylus{\textquoteright}s {\textquotedblleft}resemblance naturalism{\textquotedblright} and Hermogenes{\textquoteright}s unadulterated conventionalism.},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.31577/filozofia.2024.79.4.4},
	url = {https://www.sav.sk/journals/uploads/0416185610.31577filozofia.2024.79.4.4.pdf},
	author = {Sidiropoulou, Chryssi}
}
