Abstract

The Socrates of Plato’s dialogues typically practiced elenchos (or cross examination), but neither the term nor the activity originated with him. In fragment 7.3-6 Parmenides of Elea had already spoken off a goddess who directs a youth to judge by reason the poludêrin elenchon spoken by her. Although the meaning of the phrase has been variously understood, I argue that it is properly taken to mean ‘a much-contested testing’ (of the ways of thinking available for inquiry). In characterizing the elenchos as poludêris or ‘much contested’ the goddess was asserting that the decision to follow the ‘it is’ road of inquiry must be continually reaffirmed against the pull of custom and sense experience. Thus, by the time Socrates had begun to practice elenchos on his fellow citizens, there was already a tradition of putting ideas and persons ‘to the test’ to refute their assertions or to certify them as correct.