Socratic Inquiry in Plato's Early Philosophy : Dialectic Structure and its significance of today

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The aim of this research is to expound and examine Socrates' inquiry in Plato's early dialogues and its significance of today. Since Plato's dialogues are not traces of solidary thinking, but movements between Socrates and his interlocutors (and even bystanders), I don't target this research for seeking any doctorines Socrates (or Plato) might have reached. In fact, Socratic inquiries always fall into aporias. If those inquiries focus on logical argumentations, aporias are nothing but plain failures. Aporias in the Socratic dialogues, however, are not mere failures, but worthy of investigation. It is necessary to examine them as essential phase of the Socratic inquiries ; otherwise, movements woven through questions and answers would be reduced to some doctorines, and Socrates would be taken as a bearer of such doctorines. For the reason why dialogues with Socrates is 'a gift of the god' (Apol. 30d7-e1) is that we are released from supposing we 'know something noble and good' (Apol. 21d4) and our insolence. That is, the gift 'Socrates' in Plato's early dialogues consists in depriving us of supposing that we know something. Thus, this research has examined by texts (Reports of this research deals with Laches, Protagoras, Lysis, Gorgias, Republic I and Meno) how and why Socratic inquires fall into aporia, and expounded significance of Socratic aporia.