Gorgias

by Plato

Overview

Gorgias is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato around 380 BC. The dialogue depicts a conversation between Socrates and a small group of sophists (and other guests) at a dinner gathering. Socrates debates with the sophist seeking the true definition of rhetoric, attempting to pinpoint the essence of rhetoric and unveil the flaws of the sophistic oratory popular in Athens at the time. The art of persuasion was widely considered necessary for political and legal advantage in classical Athens, and rhetoricians promoted themselves as teachers of this fundamental skill. Some, like Gorgias, were foreigners attracted to Athens because of its reputation for intellectual and cultural sophistication. Socrates suggests that he is one of the few Athenians to practice true politics.

Socrates interrogates Gorgias to determine the true definition of rhetoric, framing his argument in the question format, "What is X?" (2).^[3] He asks, "... why don't you tell us yourself what the craft you're an expert in is, and hence what we're supposed to call you?" (449e).

Throughout the remainder of the dialogue, Socrates debates about the nature of rhetoric. Although rhetoric has the potential to be used justly, Socrates believes that in practice, rhetoric is flattery; the rhetorician makes the audience feel worthy because they can identify with the rhetorician's argument.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781774419663
Publisher:	Binker North
Publication date:	06/08/2023
Pages:	130
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.28(d)

About the Author

Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. In Athens, Plato founded the Academy, a philosophical school where he taught the philosophical doctrines that would later become known as Platonism. Plato (or Platon) was a pen name derived, apparently, from the nickname given to him by his wrestling coach - allegedly a reference to his physical broadness. According to Alexander of Miletus quoted by Diogenes of Sinope his actual name was Aristocles, son of Ariston, of the deme Collytus (Collytus being a district of Athens). Plato was an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms in philosophy. He raised problems for what later became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy. His most famous the Theory of forms, which has been interpreted as advancing a solution to what is now known as the problem of universals. He is also the namesake of Platonic love and the Platonic solids. His own most decisive philosophical influences are usually thought to have been, along with Socrates, the pre-Socratics Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although few of his predecessors' works remain extant and much of what we know about these figures today derives from Plato himself.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgements	vii
	Reference System Used in this Edition	ix
	Chronology	xi
	Introduction	xiii
	Further Reading	xxxviii
	A Note on the Text	xliii
A	Dialogue With Gorgias	3
B	Dialogue With Polus	27
C	Dialogue With Callicles	64
	Notes	139
	Glossary of Greek Terms	151
	Index	153

Editorial Reviews

"The admired qualities of Dodds's works, a scholarship both exact and deep, an economy and lucidity in exposition (Dodds has few rivals in saying much in the fewest words with absolute clarity), and an immense level-headedness and sobriety which combined with the sharpest acumen and independence of judgment in the handling of evidence is never seduced by the charm of fantasy, all these once more characterize his edition of the Gorgias."—Philosophical Quarterly

"Professor Dodds's fine edition (which both overhauls the manuscript tradition and supplies a commentary as wide ranging as it is perspicacious) fills a gap untouched in this country since 1890....The Gorgias should have a special appeal to contemporary students, and to historians no less than philosophers."—Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher