
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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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.
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.
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.


