Why the Cratylus Matters, or: Plato's Cratylus and the Philosophy of Language

In this paper I survey some central stages and aspects of the argument of Plato’s Cratylus, paying special attention to their affinities with themes from modern and contemporary philosophy. I aim to show that the dialogue is close to some of our current philosophical concerns and that, in particular, it can be read as a profound inquiry into the relation between reference, on the one hand, and description and representation, on the other. Among other things, I explore the dialogue’s connections with Frege’s sense/reference distinction and Kripke’s arguments against it.