Methods and Metaphysics of Inquiry in Plato's Statesman

Plato's Statesman articulates a general problem for philosophical inquiry: how is it possible to reach the truth about difficult subjects, such as politics, when our initial beliefs about these subjects are neither comprehensive nor reliable? The Statesman shows how a primary definition-seeking method (here, division) can be supplemented by methods for gaining new true beliefs (models) and for testing one's initial beliefs (thought experiments and deductive argument). This complex methodology is justified by a metaphysical comparison between the structure of the objects of inquiry and the letters and syllables of a language.