6 h 38 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if winning every argument leaves you unable to tell right from wrong?
In Plato’s Gorgias, Socrates meets Gorgias, a visiting teacher of public speaking, in Athens. He asks what rhetoric actually teaches. Gorgias and his followers, Polus and Callicles, face questions that reach far beyond speaking well. Can persuasion guide people toward justice if the speaker does not know what is good?
In a city where speeches shape power, these questions carry real weight. Polus defends the freedom of powerful men to do whatever they please. Callicles argues that the strong should rule. Socrates refuses to give way, testing whether success, pleasure and getting what you want can truly make a good life.
What you’ll discover
- Persuasion under pressure Follow Socrates as he asks whether convincing a crowd means teaching it anything true.
- Three increasingly bold opponents Meet Gorgias, Polus and Callicles as each brings a sharper challenge to the conversation.
- The cost of wrongdoing Consider Socrates’ unsettling claim that doing wrong harms a person more than suffering it.
- Punishment as a cure Explore an argument that treats punishment as help for the wrongdoer, rather than mere suffering.
- Pleasure put to the test Question whether satisfying every desire gives you the life you actually want to live.
Is it for you?
This book suits anyone who wonders whether success and power make a good life, and anyone who works with words, such as teachers, lawyers, politicians and writers. It may suit you less if you want a quick, light read, since the arguments need patience.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Rhetoric is the craft of persuasion
- Persuading without knowing is dangerous
- Rhetoric is flattery, not a true craft
- Power is not doing whatever you please
- Doing wrong harms you more than suffering it
- Punishment is a cure for the soul
- Callicles argues that the strong should rule
- A good life is not a life of pleasure
- True statesmen, and judgment beyond Athens
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Language: Italiano
“tutta la storia della filosofia occidentale non è che una serie di note a margine su Platone”
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
Rhetoric is the craft of persuasion
The dialogue opens just after Gorgias has given a public talk. Socrates and his friend Chaerephon arrive late and ask to speak with him. Callicles, the host, says Gorgias is staying at his house and will gladly answer questions. Socrates does not want a speech. He wants short answers, one question at a time, and he explains that he will test each claim before moving on.
Socrates asks Gorgias what his craft is. Gorgias is a famous teacher from Sicily, and he says his craft is rhetoric. Socrates presses him. Every craft has a subject. Weaving deals with cloth, and medicine deals with health. What is rhetoric about?
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What is Gorgias about?
Gorgias is a dialogue in which Socrates asks what rhetoric is and whether the power to persuade is good. The talk grows into a debate about justice, power, pleasure and how one ought to live.
Who is Gorgias in Plato's dialogue?
Gorgias was a real teacher of rhetoric from Leontini in Sicily, famous in Athens in the fifth century BC. In the dialogue he is a polite man who claims rhetoric is the greatest craft, and he gives the book its name.
Who are Polus and Callicles?
Polus is a young follower of Gorgias who thinks rhetoric gives tyrant-like power. Callicles is an ambitious Athenian who argues that by nature the strong should rule. Each takes a more extreme view than the one before.
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