Why It's Lindy
The darkest and most politically honest of Plato's dialogues. Callicles' case for might-makes-right is so powerful that Plato devotes fifty pages to it before attempting a refutation — and many readers think Callicles wins. Still the most direct text on the relationship between power and justice. Every realist theory of politics argues with this book.
About This Volume
A confrontational dialogue in which Socrates debates three sophists on the nature of rhetoric, justice, and power — culminating in Callicles' brutal argument that conventional morality is a conspiracy of the weak against the strong.
Frequently Asked
Why should I read Gorgias?
The darkest and most politically honest of Plato's dialogues. Callicles' case for might-makes-right is so powerful that Plato devotes fifty pages to it before attempting a refutation — and many readers think Callicles wins. Still the most direct text on the relationship between power and justice. Every realist theory of politics argues with this book.
What is Gorgias about?
A confrontational dialogue in which Socrates debates three sophists on the nature of rhetoric, justice, and power — culminating in Callicles' brutal argument that conventional morality is a conspiracy of the weak against the strong.
