The Introduction asks why the final dialogue in the series Theaetetus-Sophist-Statesman-Philosopher is missing and considers the portrait of the philosopher it would have contained. Plato left the final dialogue unwritten to challenge his audience to work out its contents using the resources of the Parmenides and the existing series. The portrait includes two main components: first, the philosopher’s object — being — the subject-matter he studies; and second, the philosopher’s knowledge, his special expertise in dealing with that object. A third topic treated in the Introduction is the...

The Introduction asks why the final dialogue in the series Theaetetus-Sophist-Statesman-Philosopher is missing and considers the portrait of the philosopher it would have contained. Plato left the final dialogue unwritten to challenge his audience to work out its contents using the resources of the Parmenides and the existing series. The portrait includes two main components: first, the philosopher’s object — being — the subject-matter he studies; and second, the philosopher’s knowledge, his special expertise in dealing with that object. A third topic treated in the Introduction is the philosopher’s product, his discourse, and in particular Plato’s discourse. The Introduction discusses Plato’s written dialogues and their purpose of training students through practice solving philosophical problems. The Introduction ends by setting out the dialectical pattern used to bring the philosopher into view, a pattern matching that in the philosophical exercise in the second part of the Parmenides.