Protagoras (Hackett Classics)

At the end of the dialogue, Socrates defines courage as the virtue that entails wisdom about what is and is not properly frightening. This definition surprises Protagoras for several reasons, not least of which is that Socrates’s pointed questions revealed that this must be the case, based on Protagoras’s own views. Courage does not seem to be discussed for its own sake but as an example that shows the potential for inherent connection among the virtues. In this case, wisdom and courage, two of the five cardinal virtues, are intimately connected. This is in contrast to Protagoras’s hypothesis that courage is different from the other cardinal virtues, since some people possess courage but do not possess wisdom, moderation, piety, or justice. Socrates shows that this is not so. 

This is a method of philosophical inquiry that Socrates commonly employs to corral his interlocutors (including Hippocrates, Protagoras, and Prodicus) into accepting claims they may have originally found outlandish. Socrates generally builds to the unexpected (i.e., ironic) result through a series of questions. Most of these questions invite a simple yes or no response. The answers to the questions generally seem obvious, and the interlocutor responds with the expected answer, usually an affirmation of Socrates’s view.