Argumentativ überwunden, aber nicht überzeugt? : zur Wirksamkeit der sokratischen Elenktik in Platons Gorgias

Title: Argumentativ überwunden, aber nicht überzeugt? : zur Wirksamkeit der sokratischen Elenktik in Platons Gorgias
Variant title:
  • Overcome by arguments, but not convinced? : on the efficacy of the Socratic method in Plato's Gorgias
Source document: Graeco-Latina Brunensia. 2017, vol. 22, iss. 2, pp. 229-240
Extent
229-240
  • ISSN
    1803-7402 (print)
    2336-4424 (online)
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
 

Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.

Abstract(s)
The Gorgias is frequently read as a dialogue in which Socrates fails to convince especially his last interlocutor Callicles to adopt a philosophical way of life. Instead, Callicles becomes increasingly indignant about the repeated refutation of his personal convictions and eventually refuses to participate in the conversation any longer. In general scholars explain this result by Callicles' recalcitrance. It is supposed that the dialogue illustrates the impossibility of persuasion if an interlocutor refuses to cooperate – which would imply certain limitations of the Socratic elenchus. In contrast, this paper demonstrates that Socrates indeed achieves his aim of shaking Callicles' faith. By decoding the medicine and court imagery, ubiquitous throughout the whole dialogue, it will be argued that, far from being an illustration of failure, the text instead indicates that Socrates' conversation with Callicles is successful – and thus proves the efficacy of the elenctic method even on reluctant opponents.
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