Suzanne’s Approach to Plato’s Dialogues

Bernard Suzanne has a theory of how to read 28 Platonic dialogues in order.

http://plato-dialogues.org/tetralog.htm

Overview of tetralogies		a i t i a (cause)		epithumiai (desires)phusis (nature)	thumos (will) krisis (judgment) èthos (behavior)	logos (reason) kosmos (order)
Tetralogy 1 : The start of the quest what is man ?		ALCIBIADES man		LYSIS friendship (philo-)	LACHES manhood (andreia)	CHARMIDES wisdom (-sophos)
Tetralogy 2 : The sophists eikasia (conjecture)		PROTAGORAS relativism		HIPPIAS Major illusion of beauty	HIPPIAS Minor illusion of the “hero”	GORGIAS illusion of logos
Tetralogy 3 : Socrates’ trial pistis (true belief)		MENO pragmatism		EUTHYPHRO  letter of the law	THE APOLOGY OF SOCRATES law in action	CRITO  spirit of the law
Tetralogy 4 : The soulpsuchè		THE SYMPOSIUM the driving force : eros		PHÆDRUS nature of the soul : erôs<=>logos	THE REPUBLIC behaviour of the soul : justice	PHÆDO destiny of the soul : being
Tetralogy 5 : Speech (logos) dianoia (knowledge)		CRATYLUS the words of speech		ION logos of the poet	EUTHYDEMUS logos of the sophist	MENEXENUS logos of the politician
Tetralogy 6 : Dialectic epistèmè (science)		PARMENIDES the traps of reason		THEÆTETUS the limits of reason	THE SOPHIST the laws of reason	THE STATESMAN the goals of reason
Tetralogy 7 : Man in the world kosmos (order)		PHILEBUS the good of man		TIMÆUS contemplating (theôria)	CRITIAS deciding (krisis)	THE LAWS acting (erga)

---