The Dramatic Setting of the Gorgias
ABSTRACT: I analyse the dramatic setting of the Gorgias by contrasting it with that of the Protagoras. The two dialogues are closely related. In the Gorgias Socrates states that the rhetorician and the sophist are basically indistinguishable in everyday life. In both the Protagoras and the Gorgias, his confrontation with his interlocutors is metaphorically related to a descent to Hades. However, while the events in the Protagoras are narrated by Socrates himself, the Gorgias has readers face the unfolding events without mediation. The temporal and spatial framing of the Gorgias is indeterminate, while both aspects are described in detail in the Protagoras. I maintain that the magical passage from an indeterminate "outside" to an indeterminate "inside" in the Gorgias is significantly related to the characters' attitude towards the boundaries of each other's souls, which are constantly ignored or attacked. As a matter of fact, the dialogue presents a very impressive amount of anger and exchange of abuse, which never ceases until the end. I suggest that the temporal framing demonstrates that the beginning and the end of the dialogue are closely connected. Socrates unexpectedly arrives and refutes Gorgias by asking him unexpected questions. The last myth of judgment indicates that Gorgias' attitude is comparable to that of the mortals who lived during Kronos' age, while Socrates brings about a liberation from appearance which is analogous to the innovations brought about by Zeus.
The Gorgias has been often characterized by commentators as a remarkably bitter dialogue. After all, the dialogue presents a war between philosophy and rhetoric. Socrates is involved in three discussions of growing length and complexity with characters who, to various degrees, defend the power of rhetoric and the superiority of political life over philosophical life. It is a "fighting dialogue", as is also suggested by its incipit: "to war and battle."
One would expect Socrates to win against his non-philosophical interlocutors. However, this is not the case. The more the conversations proceed, the more they are infiltrated by anger and misunderstanding, the more one is under the impression that Socrates may well silence his interlocutors but he hardly persuades them. His last interlocutor, Callicles, not only is not persuaded by him, but at one point even refuses to talk to Socrates and leaves him with the choice between abandoning the discussion altogether and performing a monologue.
The myth of last judgment, which concludes the dialogue, is addressed to Callicles.
For these two articles that we read in Crito and Apology by Plato, we could know Socrates is an enduring person with imagination, because he presents us with a mass of contradictions: Most eloquent men, yet he never wrote a word; ugliest yet most profoundly attractive; ignorant yet wise; wrongfully convicted, yet unwilling to avoid his unjust execution. Behind these conundrums is a contradiction less often explored: Socrates is at once the most Athenian, most local, citizenly, and patriotic of philosophers; and yet the most self-regarding of Athenians. Exploring that contradiction, between Socrates the loyal Athenian citizen and Socrates the philosophical critic of Athenian society, will help to position Plato's Socrates in an Athenian legal and historical context; it allows us to reunite Socrates the literary character and Athens the democratic city that tried and executed him. Moreover, those help us to understand Plato¡¦s presentation of the strange legal and ethical drama.
Bipolar Disorder (Formerly known as Manic Depression) is a mental illness linked to alterations in moods such as mood swings, mania, and depression. There is more than one type, Bipolar I and Bipolar II, and the subcategories are divided by the severity of the symptoms seen, such as cyclothymic disorder, seasonal mood changes, rapid cycling disorder and psychosis. Age of onset usually occurs between 15-30 years old with an average onset of 25 years old but it can affect all ages. (Harvard Medical School; Massachusetts General Hospital , 2013) Bipolar disorder affects more than two million people in the United States every year. (Gardner, 2011)
Tyson Hartnett of The Huffington Post once said “Even with any type of scholarship, college athletes are typically dead broke.” This quote regards a tremendous controversy that has been talked about for the past few years. He talks about whether or not college athletes should be paid for their duties. Despite the fact college athletes are not professionals, they should most certainly be paid for playing for their respective schools due to many factors. These factors include health risks and the income bring in for their colleges as well as to the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
...h Protagoras uses to attack Socrates's assertion that civic aptitude is like other skills, and can therefore only be practiced at any level of excellence by a few. Protagoras devotes the second half of his speech to refuting directly the notion that these civic aptitudes cannot be taught; this argument is not framed as a story, but as a systematic analysis of punishment. His long speech (though very different to Socrates's primary method of dialectic argumentation) actually does contain an element of internal dialogue: myth is contrasted to logical reasoning, and the two forms respond and counter each other. While Socrates will attempt to demolish Protagoras's arguments, Protagoras's double-nature suggests, perhaps, that we should not side completely with Socrates. There is merit in what Protagoras says, even if this merit must first be salvaged from his sophistry.
Bipolar Disorder can be classified by the occurrence of manic episodes followed by hypomanic or major depressive episodes. A manic episode is a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, extensive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently increased goal-directed activity or energy, lasting at least 1 week and present most of the day, nearly every day. During the specific period of mood disturbance and increased energy or activity, many symptoms are present. Some examples of these symptoms can include: -Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, and are more talkative than usual (“Bipolar and Related Disorders, “n.d.). There is a 10- 15% risk of completed suicide associated with Bipolar Disorder (“Bipolar Depression”, 2)
Bipolar disorder can be conceptualized as parallel dysfunction in emotion-processing and emotion-regulation circuits, together with an “overactive” reward-processing circuitry, resulting in characteristic behavioral abnormalities associated with bipolar disorder: emotional lability, emotional dysregulation, and heightened reward sensitivity (Bressert, 2006). According to DSM-IV and ICD-10, divides bipolar disorder into at least two subtypes. Bipolar type I disorder, the most classical form, is characterized by a succession of manic or mixed states with depressive episodes. The course of bipolar type II disorder is similar but more unstable in course, where depression alternates with hypomania (Burke, 2012, 159-166).
In all intents and purposes the way that Socrates engages the dialectic makes it very difficult to refute his points. In a comparable light, when interacting with Polus, Socrates does not tolerate Polus trying to counter his points. Whenever he tries, Socrates himself counters the argument without addressing Polus’ argument, and stating that they are in fact straying away from Plato’s dialectic. In dialect with Gorgias, Socrates states, “Well, perhaps I’ve done an absurd thing in not permitting you to make a long speech, while holding forth at the same length myself” (Plato 26). It is clear that Socrates is a hypocrite. He did not let Gorgias fully explain himself or even give him much of a chance. Adding insult to injury, Socrates states that rhetoric is flattery, then goes onto enagae in rhetoric with himself when Calicles decides to stop answering
Tartakovsky, Margarita. “Bipolar Disorder Fact Sheet.” Psych Central. n.p. 2009. Web. (accessed Sept. 20, 2011).
One reason that college athletes should be paid is because they earn their revenue that is distributed to coaches and colleges they represent. And is it not unusual to not even receive a little percentage of it. Major college sports earn around $11 billion dollars according to Marc Edelman who is an associate professor of law at Zicklin School of Business. According to Edelman, colleges that partake in college sports can earn up to $100 million in revenue. This revenue is used for paying coaches, college campus, and etc. This distribution of money is not wrong and has good intention. However, colleges spend too much on their expenses and don’t recognize the efforts of the athletes. For example, according Marc
Obesity is a very common health problem in the U.S., and the number of people considered obese is forever increasing. More than 35.7% of U.S. adults are considered obese (“Adult Overweight”). The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism points out that “obesity is a chronic medical condition characterized by too much body fat” (Beeson, Hill, Wyatt). It is diagnosed by a number called the Body Mass Index or BMI. This number calculates the amount of body fat based on the person’s height and weight. The higher the BMI the more body fat obese people have which leads to obesity. An adult with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight. An adult with a BMI of greater than 30 is considered obese (“Adult Overweight”). While Obesity is an extremely serious problem in the U.S., this condition, except possibly for the cases of genetic and hormonal disorders, can be prevented by portion control, exercise, and eating a well-balanced diet.
Emotion control is certainly the biggest factor with this disorder. Mania is very destructive, but there is also negative mood behavior that can lead to evident suicide. Depression, anxiety, irritability, and hostility, are all negative moods that are uncontrollable with Bipolar Disorder. Problems with cognition also arise as being disorganized, inattentive, easily distracted, and having racing thoughts. All of these issues are a result of abnormalities in the brain. (Psych Central.)
Socrates have been using rhetorical devices throughout his discussion with Gorgias, and started out by using ethos appeal to draw Gorgias into his questioning, in which Polus gave an indefinite answers to Chaerephon. Ethos appeal can be described as an appeal by character of authority; it is when we tend to believe those who we respect. After Polus failed to answer the question, Socrates responded, “It certainly looks as though Polus is well qualified to speak, Gorgias, but he’s not doing what he promised Chaerephon he’d do.” (Plato 3). Socrates, who was not satisfied with the answer given by Polus, provoked Gorgias into answering for his disciple as Socrates brought Gorgias’ name into the conversation.
This essay will illustrate the types of characters depicted in Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, whether static or dynamic, flat or round, and whether protrayed through the showing or telling technique.
In June of 2013, The American Medical Association (AMA) officially recognized obesity as a disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control (2014), one in three Americans are obese, from 1980 to 2008, obesity rates have doubled for adults and tripled for children, approximately 35.7% of U.S adults and 17% of U.S. children are obese. The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader of the increasing prevalence of obesity in the world; that childhood and adulthood obesity is a chronic condition that leads to many other long term health problems and there are many different ways it can be prevented.
Nails, Debra, N. (2005, September 16). Socrates. Stanford University. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/