Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Arkeoloji ve Sanat, cilt.179, ss.123-134, 2025 (TRDizin)
The problem of the definition, nature and source of knowledge, which Plato discusses in various ways in his works, essentially goes back to pre-Socratic philosophy, where the seeds of philosophical thought were sown and its fundamental problems were determined and opened up for discussion. With the influence of the Sophist movement, which developed in the 5th century BC and was the target of Socrates’ criticism, this problem became the centre of philosophical debate. In his dialogue Theaetetus, Plato presents his understanding of knowledge, criticising both the ideas of pre-Socratic philosophers and the Sophists’ approach, which regarded man as the measure of all things. In doing so, he seeks to determine the types of knowledge and the source of each type of knowledge, starting from the perceptions acquired through the senses as the lowest degree and progressing to the highest form of knowledge. In this context, he tries to clarify the essence of certain, true and universal knowledge and how it can be defined. Thus, he not only reveals the anatomy of his own understanding of knowledge but also determines the course of subsequent philosophical discussions on the subject. This study will take Plato’s “Theaetetus” dialogue as its basis and examine the problem of the definition, nature, and source of knowledge within the framework of this dialogue. as a reflection of divine will and as a practical tool within administrative decision-making processes.