Power and Vulnerability: Plato’s Gorgias in Context

Abstract

Abstract:This dissertation argues that the central theme of Plato’s Gorgias is the relationship between power and the good life. By examining the connections of Plato’s Gorgias with the writings of the historical sophist Gorgias of Leontini, and by developing a novel account of Plato’s approach to social criticism it generates new interpretations of the treatment of rhetoric, power, and the good in the dialogue. I show that the core error of the arguments presented by Gorgias, Polus, and Callicles was to conflate a controlling form of power with the ability to advance our real interests. After reconstructing Socrates’s criticisms of this mistake I conclude by analyzing the role of vulnerability in the relationships Socrates’s takes to be integral in developing moral virtue.