Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“I speak of what I scarcely understand; but the soul when thinking appears to me to be just talking—asking questions of herself and answering them, affirming and denying.”
- Source
- Theaetetus
- Date
- 4th century BCE
- Local voice
- Dialogue speaker · Socrates
Meaning of “I speak of what I scarcely understand; but…”
Socrates describes thought as a conversation conducted silently within oneself. He is trying out an account of judgment while discussing false opinion with Theaetetus, and even qualifies the description with an admission of uncertainty. It is a dialogue hypothesis about thinking, not a confirmed psychological theory.
Where does it come from?
Plato, Theaetetus, approximately 189e–190a; Socrates responding to Theaetetus on what it means for the mind to conceive something. Benjamin Jowett English, Project Gutenberg #1726, main dialogue after the discussion of false belief. The same passage later distinguishes inner speech from externally spoken words.
Why the local voice matters
Jowett English; Theaetetus; Socrates is the dramatic speaker. Do not label this Plato autobiographical speech.
