Editing Plato (section)

=== Chronology ===
No one knows the exact order Plato's dialogues were written in, nor the extent to which some might have been later revised and rewritten. The works are usually grouped into ''Early'', ''Middle'', and ''Late'' period; The following represents one relatively common division amongst developmentalist scholars.{{sfn|Fine|1999b}}
* Early: ''[[Apology (Plato)|Apology]]'', ''[[Charmides (dialogue)|Charmides]]'', ''[[Crito]]'', ''[[Euthyphro]]'', ''[[Gorgias (dialogue)|Gorgias]]'', ''[[Hippias Minor]]'', ''[[Hippias Major]]'', ''[[Ion (dialogue)|Ion]]'', ''[[Laches (dialogue)|Laches]]'', ''[[Lysis (dialogue)|Lysis]]'', ''[[Protagoras (dialogue)|Protagoras]]''
* Middle: ''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'', ''[[Euthydemus (dialogue)|Euthydemus]]'', ''[[Meno]]'', ''[[Parmenides (dialogue)|Parmenides]]'', ''[[Phaedo]]'', ''[[Phaedrus (dialogue)|Phaedrus]]'', ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'', ''[[Symposium (Plato)|Symposium]]'', ''[[Theaetetus (dialogue)|Theatetus]]''
* Late: ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]'', ''[[Sophist (dialogue)|Sophist]]'', ''[[Statesman (dialogue)|Statesman]]'', ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'', ''[[Philebus]]'', ''[[Laws (dialogue)|Laws]].''

Whereas those classified as "early dialogues" often conclude in [[aporia]], the so-called "middle dialogues" provide more clearly stated positive teachings that are often ascribed to Plato such as the theory of Forms. The remaining dialogues are classified as "late" and are generally agreed to be difficult and challenging pieces of philosophy.{{sfn|Cooper|1997|p=xiv}} It should, however, be kept in mind that many of the positions in the ordering are still highly disputed, and also that the very notion that Plato's dialogues can or should be "ordered" is by no means universally accepted,{{sfn|Cooper|1997}} Increasingly in the most recent Plato scholarship, writers are skeptical of the notion that the order of Plato's writings can be established with any precision.{{sfn|Kraut|2013}} though Plato's works are still often characterized as falling at least roughly into three groups stylistically.