In Our Time

Plato's Gorgias

Nov 25, 2021

In this intriguing discussion, guests Angie Hobbs, Frisbee Sheffield, and Fiona Leigh delve into Plato's 'Gorgias.' Hobbs, a philosophy professor, analyzes themes of power and freedom, while Sheffield, a classics lecturer, brings insight into rhetoric’s ethical implications. Leigh explores Plato's philosophical evolution through personal context and the transformative discourse with Callicles. They dissect concepts like 'might is right,' the moral stakes of rhetorical persuasion, and the dialogue's impact on Athenian democracy, blending classic philosophy with contemporary relevance.

50:03

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Episode guests

Fiona Leigh

Frisbee Sheffield

Angie Hobbs

Highlights

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Episode notes

How Socrates Talks to Others Very Differently by Refuting and Being Refuted

01:53

Plato's Gorgias

00:23

Socrates' Speech Practice

01:43

The Genealogy of Morals

02:09

Intro

3min

Plato's Philosophical Transformation and Gorgias' Influence

3min

Exploring Plato: Ethics, Forms, and Dialogue

4min

Rhetoric and Power in Plato's Gorgias

11min

Morality and Power: The Clash of Socrates and Callicles

11min

The Impact of Plato's Dialogue on Athenian Democracy

2min

Socratic Politics and Rhetoric in Gorgias

13min

Exploring Power, Pleasure, and Hedonism in Plato's Gorgias

3min

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of Plato's most striking dialogues, in which he addresses the real nature of power and freedom, and the relationship between pleasure and true self-interest. As he tests these ideas, Plato creates powerful speeches, notably from Callicles who claims that laws of nature trump man-made laws, that might is right, and that rules are made by weak people to constrain the strong in defiance of what is natural and proper. Gorgias is arguably the most personal of all of Plato's dialogues, with its hints of a simmering fury at the system in Athens that put his mentor Socrates to death, and where rhetoric held too much sway over people.

With

Angie Hobbs Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield

Frisbee Sheffield University Lecturer in Classics and Fellow of Downing College, University of Cambridge

And

Fiona Leigh Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at University College London

Producer: Simon Tillotson

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