---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Plato worried that philosophical writing…"
description: "\"Plato worried that philosophical writing would take the place of living conversations for which, in philosophy, there is no substitute.\" — Rebecca Gold..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/rebecca-goldstein-4026_conversation_plato-worried-that-philosophical-writing_3200179.jpg"
---

#  Plato worried that philosophical writing would take the…

![“Plato worried that philosophical writing would take the place of living conversations for which, in philosophy, there is no substitute.” quote by Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/rebecca-goldstein-4026_conversation_plato-worried-that-philosophical-writing_3200179.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/rebecca-goldstein-4026_conversation_plato-worried-that-philosophical-writing_3200179.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/rebecca-goldstein-4026_conversation_plato-worried-that-philosophical-writing_3200179.jpg)

> “Plato worried that philosophical writing would take the place of living conversations for which, in philosophy, there is no substitute.”

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Plato feared that written philosophy would replace lively dialogue, which he saw as essential for true understanding.

**In simple terms:** Plato worried books might replace live discussion.

Key Takeaway

Value spoken dialogue alongside reading.

Themes

philosophy communication dialogue education tradition

Mood

thoughtful inquisitive

Type

educational philosophical

When to use this quote

- classroom teaching
- philosophy seminars
- online discussion forums
- public debates

Key Concepts

Socratic method epistemology media theory

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we balance reading and conversation?
- What modern tools preserve dialogue?

A Different Perspective

Written texts still provide depth, but lack immediacy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Conversations Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversations-philosophy-5938235/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Philosophical Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical-writing-3423734/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy Substitute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-substitute-5938237/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plato/) [Plato Worried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plato-worried-5938234/) [Substitutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substitutes/) [Worried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worried/) [Worried Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worried-philosophical-5938236/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [It is easier to produce ten volumes of philosophical writing than to put one principle into practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-nikolaevich-tolstoy/it-is-easier-to-produce-ten-volumes-of-philosophical-writing-than-to/)

[Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-nikolaevich-tolstoy/)

> [And what is it, according to Plato, that philosophy is supposed to do? Nothing less than to render violence to our sense of ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/and-what-is-it-according-to-plato-that-philosophy-is-supposed-to-do/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [So Socrates was a kind of gadfly. He was a sort of philosophical urban gorilla hanging around in the middle of Athens, asking these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/so-socrates-was-a-kind-of-gadfly-he-was-a-sort-of-philosophical-urban/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Paraphrasing Plato's Republic: "Only people who have allowed themselves to be reformed by reality have it in themselves to reform their polis for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/paraphrasing-plato-s-republic-only-people-who-have-allowed-themselves/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Plato dramatically puts the detachment of the philosopher from his time this way: to philosophize is to prepare to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/plato-dramatically-puts-the-detachment-of-the-philosopher-from-his/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [The great spiritual geniuses, whether it was Moses, Buddha, Plato, Socrates, Jesus, or Emerson… have taught man to look within himself to find God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it-was-moses-buddha-plato/)

[Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/)

> [Homer, Hesiod, Pythagoras, Plato, and Cicero, just to name a few, all lived in pagan societies. Some of the greatest political and military leaders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/homer-hesiod-pythagoras-plato-and-cicero-just-to-name-a-few-all-lived/)

[Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/)

> [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [“What she's learned is what she always learns. Plato was right. We're all of us immortal. We couldn't die if we wanted to. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/what-she-s-learned-is-what-she-always-learns-plato-was-right-we-re/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

> [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [During the 2300 years since Plato, very little opposition has been registered to his ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/during-the-2300-years-since-plato-very-little-opposition-has-been/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Plato compared the intellect to a charioteer guiding the powerful horses of the passions, i.e., he gave it both the power of perception and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-cattell/plato-compared-the-intellect-to-a-charioteer-guiding-the-powerful/)

[Raymond Cattell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-cattell/)

> [I don't want my kids growing up with the image of God that I had -- Plato's white grandfatherly god -- because that god…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/i-don-t-want-my-kids-growing-up-with-the-image-of-god-that-i-had/)

[William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/)

> [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

## More by Rebecca Goldstein

> [Youth is not an essential, but rather an accidental property. Nobody is in essence young. One either ceases to be or ceases to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/youth-is-not-an-essential-but-rather-an-accidental-property-nobody-is/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Plato dramatically puts the detachment of the philosopher from his time this way: to philosophize is to prepare to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/plato-dramatically-puts-the-detachment-of-the-philosopher-from-his/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/when-you-ask-why-did-some-particular-question-occur-to-a-scientist-or/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [“Freedom for me is a pain in the Buridan's ass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/freedom-for-me-is-a-pain-in-the-buridan-s-ass/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Those who share my heroes are, in the deepest sense, of my own kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/those-who-share-my-heroes-are-in-the-deepest-sense-of-my-own-kind/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [“one evangelical scientist who had felt his doubts falling away from him when he was hiking in the mountains and came upon a frozen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/one-evangelical-scientist-who-had-felt-his-doubts-falling-away-from/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Because of the failure of religion to offer satisfying answers to an increasing number of people, it's time for philosophy to address forcefully these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/because-of-the-failure-of-religion-to-offer-satisfying-answers-to-an/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [If we look at our attitudes consistently and work out the logical implications we're on the road to moral progress, moral understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/if-we-look-at-our-attitudes-consistently-and-work-out-the-logical/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [We may not need God to tell us where the world came from, but we need God to be able to live moral lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/we-may-not-need-god-to-tell-us-where-the-world-came-from-but-we-need/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [In order to refute a conclusion, you have to put forth the best possible argument for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have-to-put-forth-the-best/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Philosophical progress changes what we take to be "intuitively" obvious, and this change covers up the tracks of the laborious arguments that preceded the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/philosophical-progress-changes-what-we-take-to-be-intuitively-obvious/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [What one tries to force into a child against its own nature will never come to good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/what-one-tries-to-force-into-a-child-against-its-own-nature-will/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Thinking is the soul speaking to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/thinking-is-the-soul-speaking-to-itself/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [What is remarkable about the Greeks - even pre-philosophically - is that despite the salience of religious rituals in their lives, when it came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/what-is-remarkable-about-the-greeks-even-pre-philosophically-is-that/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [In fact, it’s the very impersonality of impersonal knowledge that renders such knowledge the most ethically potent of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/in-fact-it-s-the-very-impersonality-of-impersonal-knowledge-that/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

[Explore all 116 Rebecca Goldstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

## More Conversation quotes

> [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/)

[Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/)

> [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/)

[Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/)

> [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/)

[Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/)

> [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/)

[Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/)

> [“Build a bridge over shame by teaching kids about sexual abuse. Give them a chance to run to us should they encounter it. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-byers-ruch/build-a-bridge-over-shame-by-teaching-kids-about-sexual-abuse-give/)

[Carolyn Byers Ruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-byers-ruch/)

> [“Having to talk to people was the one thing, but soliciting conversation was something else. If I acted squirmy or didn't make eye contact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/having-to-talk-to-people-was-the-one-thing-but-soliciting/)

[Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/)

> [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/)

[Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/)

> [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/)

[N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/)

> [The best shows succeed because they tap into a national conversation,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-lewis/the-best-shows-succeed-because-they-tap-into-a-national-conversation/)

[Damian Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-lewis/)

> [“And better still to be alone with one’s books. They tell their incredible stories at the time when you want to hear them. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-better-still-to-be-alone-with-one-s-books-they-tell-their/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It concerns me when people frame the conversation about equal pay about the entertainment business. I don't want the wage gap issue to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/it-concerns-me-when-people-frame-the-conversation-about-equal-pay/)

[Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/)

> [Things happen too quickly, crisis follows crisis, the soil of our minds is perpetually disturbed. Each of us, to relieve his feelings, broadcasts his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/things-happen-too-quickly-crisis-follows-crisis-the-soil-of-our-minds/)

[Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/)

> [Challenging is good, like good conversation, yes? Who wants to have dinner with the same old easy listening music sounding friends all the time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-als/challenging-is-good-like-good-conversation-yes-who-wants-to-have/)

[Hilton Als](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-als/)

> [Don’t let yourself be. Find something new to try, something to change. Count how often it succeeds and how often it doesn’t. Write about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/don-t-let-yourself-be-find-something-new-to-try-something-to-change/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

[Browse all 5,224 Conversation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Plato worried that philosophical writing would take the place of living conversations for which, in philosophy, there is no substitute.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rebecca Goldstein"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/plato-worried-that-philosophical-writing-would-take-the-place-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Conversation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/plato-worried-that-philosophical-writing-would-take-the-place-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/rebecca-goldstein-4026_conversation_plato-worried-that-philosophical-writing_3200179.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/rebecca-goldstein-4026_conversation_plato-worried-that-philosophical-writing_3200179.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/rebecca-goldstein-4026_conversation_plato-worried-that-philosophical-writing_3200179.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Plato worried that philosophical writing would take the place of living conversations for which, in…” — Rebecca Goldstein",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Rebecca Goldstein",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Plato worried that philosophical writing would...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/plato-worried-that-philosophical-writing-would-take-the-place-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/plato-worried-that-philosophical-writing-would-take-the-place-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
