Sadler's Lectures

Plato, Gorgias - Knowledge, Good Will, And Frankness - Sadler's Lectures

May 19, 2024
A close look at a tense exchange from Plato's Gorgias about who can judge a soul. The lecture highlights Socrates' ironic praise and a gold-testing analogy for moral truth. It outlines three traits said to qualify someone as a reliable moral tester: knowledge, good will, and frankness. The talk then questions whether those traits truly appear in Callicles.
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ANECDOTE

Gold Assayer Analogy

  • Socrates calls Callicles a godsend and compares finding a truthful judge to finding a testing stone for gold.
  • The analogy illustrates how a true assessor reveals genuine moral value versus mere appearance.
INSIGHT

Agreement As Proof Of Reliable Judgment

  • Socrates likens finding an honest critic to finding the best stone for assaying gold; agreement signals truth and reliable judgment.
  • A tester of souls must bring knowledge to discern genuine worth from mere appearances.
INSIGHT

Knowledge Is A Prerequisite To Judge Souls

  • Socrates says knowledge (epistēmē) is essential to judge whether souls live rightly or wrongly.
  • Knowing what is good, just, and beautiful is required, not mere gut intuition.
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