Plato's Hippias Minor: translation, study and critical commentary

Abstract

Hippias Minor is a Socratic dialogue since it belongs to the group of Plato's early dialogues, in which Plato is still strongly influenced by Socrates' figure. This influence would be present, for example, at the search for moral virtues' definitions, usually ending in aporia. However, during the nineteenth century some critics had doubts about its authorship, despite the reference made by Aristotle in Metaphysics, which is widely accepted as evidence of Platonic authorship nowadays. These doubts, however, were originated due to the content of the dialogue itself, because Socrates defends the paradoxical thesis that those who commit injustice intentionally are better than those who do it unintentionally.