Gorgias

GORGIAS

BY PLATO

TRANSLATED BY BENJAMIN JOWETT

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CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

GORGIAS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PLATO

Even for those who have never personally read his work, Plato is one of the most recognized names in the world. This renowned figure has earned a place by most accounts as one of Western literature's most thought-provoking, multi-faceted, and influential minds. In his own time, he was a man of reputable status, and the thorough and engrossing depth of his knowledge concerning the political intricacies and intellectual discourse of the period reflect his elevated rank and education. Transcending the confines of any particular period in history, the questions presented in his works are of such a profound nature, and the methods employed to solve them are so insightful and evocative, that intellectuals of nearly every subsequent generation readily claim Plato as an influence on the way they think and perceive the world in one way or another. Although he was certainly not the first philosopher, or the first writer to be regarded as such, the meticulous approach to the manner in which one engages philosophical study in terms of the analysis of ethics, politics, and other issues is more than aptly credited to his name. Indeed, the perception of philosophy and the parameters of its ambitions are to a large extent defined by the efforts of Plato and his desire to provide a navigable landscape for the intellectually curious. Very few authors of philosophy in antiquity have been recognized as being able to approach a position of even remote comparison to his influence.

Although there is some dispute as to the exact year of Plato's birth, the calculations of Eratosthenes which place it somewhere around 428 or 427 B.C.E. are traditionally accepted as the best approximation. Plato's birth name was actually Aristocles, in honor of his grandfather; Plato, a derivation of platos, or broad, is thought to have been a nickname given to him at some point as an apparent reflection of his physique. He was the son of Ariston and Perictione and shared in his family's status as wealthy and influential members of Athenian society.

Not much is known about his early childhood, but the young man was thought to have possessed extraordinary intellectual and artistic skills. Writing was one of his passions, and when he eventually found himself the pupil of Socrates, his talent became all the more apparent as he tried to capture the voice of his teacher. The time spent under the tutelage of Socrates would prove to influence him more than any other and would serve as his introduction into the world of philosophical thought. For his controversial beliefs regarding religion and politics, Socrates would ultimately be tried and found guilty of the crime of impiety. The trial of Socrates later became the subject of Plato's work in Apology – derived from apologia, meaning defense in Greek.

Upon the death of Socrates in 399 B.C.E., Plato left Athens and for a time lived in Megara. From there he traveled to places such as Egypt and Italy. During his travels, Plato indulged himself in further intellectual studies with the followers of Pythagoras and also spent a number of years in the service of Syracuse's ruling family as an advisor. He eventually made his way back to Athens and founded his own school of philosophy known as the Academy. For the benefit of his pupils, Plato endeavored both to pass along the manner of thinking inspired by Socrates and to lead them through the rigors of mathematical education towards the attainment of truth through abstract philosophy. The famous dialogues written by him were crafted in pursuit of these aims.

Although most of the remainder of his life would be spent at the Academy, Plato made two trips to Sicily before his death. The internal conflicts and acts of war that he witnessed there served to further sour his taste for politics. He returned to the Academy in Athens and lived out the remaining years of his life there. The philosopher is thought by some sources to have died and been buried at the Academy around 348 or 347 B.C.E. The actual site of Plato's grave, however, has not been uncovered by archeologists.

Excluding Timaeus, a piece dedicated to the sensible world and all its interrelated beauty, Plato's catalogue of works was not available to Western eyes until they were reintroduced during medieval times by Middle Eastern Muslem scholars who had taken enough care to preserve them. An edition of Plato's dialogues was published in 1578 by Henri Estienne, also known under the Latinized name of Stephanus. Standard citations to the Platonic texts are often based on this text.

Conflicts within the philosophical community have attached a certain degree of controversy regarding the authenticity of many of the works attributed to Plato. Most of the topics of disagreement, including those related to the dates and order of their creation, stem from the sheer passage of time and the manner by which much of the work has been preserved. Despite any misgivings, scholars have developed ways of cataloging the works along lines of theme and style in order to better understand the nature of Plato and his evolution as a philosophical thinker.

The earliest works in his career, dealing mainly with the teachings of Socrates and collected in volumes such as Apology and Charmides, are thought to be the most reliable historical accounts regarding the method and character of Plato's instructor. The works of the middle period, including his most famous piece, the Republic, show Plato's own ideas on philosophy emerging through the words of his main characters. The first part of the Republic addresses how the Socrates of history might have considered the complexities associated with the idea and pursuit of justice, while the rest shows how Plato's new ideas and methods attempt to expound upon the views of his teacher. Here, an interwoven, systematic approach to philosophy is established by the merging of elements such as ethics, politics, morality, and metaphysics. The middle period also discusses the theory of Forms and the idea that the realm of the senses is merely an imitation of a greater order residing in the static world of the infinite. Also present is an introduction to the idea of Platonic love in Symposium and the thinker's mistrust of physical manifestations of love as being a distraction from a greater truth residing in the Form of beauty.

In Plato's later works, the character of Socrates emerges again but with views and arguments which many consider to be more of a reflection of the opinions of Plato himself. This notion is often upheld by records from Plato's famous student, Aristotle, who suggests that his teacher took a departure from the Socratic teachings of his earlier works in favor of his own philosophical inclinations later in life. It is mainly due to this distinction that some readers of his work prefer to view Plato's Socrates as simply a literary character instead of relying upon the descriptions as proof of any historical fact. This view is not universal, however.

Among the works attributed to Plato, several are of questionable authenticity. Generally labeled as the spuria and the dubia, these works include thirteen letters and eighteen epigrams. Though credited as works of the philosopher, the spuria, even to the ancients, were thought to be frauds. Some of the works included in this category are the Halcyon, Sisyphus, and Hipparchus. The dubia have also come under suspicion, but only during more recent times. Among these works are First Alcibiades and Minos.

The decision to include these pieces within the Plato collection without verifiable proof of authorship may be viewed truly as a double-edged sword. The inclusion of unauthentic material runs the risk of corrupting the integrity of the philosophies of both Plato and Socrates, while exclusion presents the possible injustice of losing what could be valuable contributions to philosophical canon, should they prove to be authentic. If one were to couple the importance of determining authenticity with the fact that, at some point or another, most of the works bearing Plato's name have been questioned, the dilemma becomes even more complex.

In the end, the mere existence of such a problem serves as a testament to the monumental significance of Plato. Despite the reality that a considerable number of his proposals and theories are controversial in nature, Plato is nonetheless respected as man of superior intellect who was molded by some of the brightest minds of his time. The credibility of his influence is not often in dispute, and therefore much of his work containing supposed conversations of these figures categorizes Plato as not only an important philosopher, but also as a historian, due to his preservation of the teachings of these other philosophers.

Among Plato's influences is Heraclitus of Ephesus. He was active around the year 500 B.C.E. and is credited with being the first figure in Western philosophy to transcend physical theory and explore the correlation between metaphysics and morality. This Greek philosopher advocated from the position that, in order to gain a true understanding of the sensible world, one had to acknowledge unity in experience and realize that there was no particular substance through which a person could identify all of existence. The writings of Aristotle suggest that an early association with this philosophy, or perhaps a follower of Heraclitus, may have influenced Plato's concepts later in life regarding the ever-changing nature of the world according to the senses. Some of these ideas concerning metaphysical concepts of unity can also be traced to the teachings of Parmenides and Zeno, both of whom appear in the dialogue called Parmenides.

While recognizing all of these influences, as well as some impressions left by followers of the Pythagorean school, there can be no doubt that Socrates was the most significant figure behind Plato's philosophical development. This can clearly be seen in Plato's decision to use Socrates as the main orator in many of his dialogues. It should not be construed, however, that Plato was the only person to write at any length about his teacher. His dialogues are, in fact, a part of a larger genre dedicated to the life of Socrates to which many writers contributed. Examples of other works include the comedic critique, Clouds, by Aristophanes and Xenophon's own account of the trial of Socrates in Apology. Of these two, Xenophon comes closest to Plato's sense of respect and admiration for the teachings of Socrates.

Where Plato differs from most of his contemporaries, however, is in the depth of his philosophical understanding and ability to explain the teachings of Socrates in his writings. The dialogues in which Socrates spoke were written in a fashion more concerned with the art of discourse and not so much about arriving at a conclusive answer to any particular question. Like the image of Socrates that he chose to present, Plato himself was a man defined by his willingness to explore ideas. His ability to find and effectively mix the common elements of seemingly different thinkers opened pathways to the study of concepts which would stir the minds of future generations.

Upon comparison to some of the well-known philosophers who are often ranked among his intellectual counterparts – like his student Aristotle and, more recently, Thomas Aquinas and Immanuel Kant –