The Unity of Plato’s Gorgias: Rhetoric, Justice, and the Philosophic Life

Stauffer demonstrates the complex unity of Plato’s Gorgias through a careful analysis of the dialogue’s three main sections. This includes Socrates’ famous argumentative duel with Callicles, a passionate critic of justice and philosophy, showing how the seemingly disparate themes of rhetoric, justice, and the philosophic life are woven together into a coherent whole. His interpretation of the Gorgias sheds new light on Plato’s thought, showing that Plato and Socrates had a more favorable view of rhetoric than is usually supposed. Stauffer also challenges common assumptions concerning the character and purpose of some of Socrates’ most famous claims about justice. Written as a close study of the Gorgias, Stauffer also treats broad questions concerning Plato’s moral and political psychology and uncovers the view of the relationship between philosophy and politics that guided Plato as he wrote his dialogues.

• First book-length interpretation of Plato’s Gorgias to bring out the unity of the dialogue • Challenges the assumption that Socrates and Plato were simply critics of rhetoric • Sheds new light on Plato’s understanding of the relationship between philosophy and politics

Introduction; 1. Examining the master of rhetoric; 2. Polus and the dispute about justice; 3. The confrontation between Socrates and Callicles; 4. Socrates’ situation and the rehabilitation of rhetoric; Conclusion: a final reflection on noble rhetoric.

\' … an essential and thought-provoking companion to the serious study of this dialogue in any academic discipline … Stauffer has written an admirable book.\'

– Bryn Mawr Classical Review