Brunnecke, Kester and Souilhe believe this dialogue to be an attack on Antisthenes. Based upon Diogenes Laërtius crediting Antisthenes with three books of protreptic works in his "Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers" vi 16, "Clitophon" may well be a criticism of Antisthenes. The author of "Clitophon" uses one of Antisthenes' protreptic works and summarizes its content. Throughout "Clitophon", Plato disparages the use of protreptic speeches. This could easily be an answer to why Plato seems to be anti-Socratic; he wishes to indirectly denounce Antisthenes via Socrates. However this seems to far-fetched to connect a symbolic attack of Socrates to a real intended attack of Antisthenes.