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Plato’s Gorgias BH, pp. 115-130

By longaker
Created 12 Oct 2007 - 9:54am

At the beginning of his discussion with Callicles (pp. 115-117), Socrates accuses Callicles of equivocating (changing the definitions of his core terms in mid-argument without signaling that change. Equivocation is among the fallacies that Aristotle mentions in the Rhetoric, though not one included in your selection). Socrates insists that Callicles settle into a definition before they proceed, as this is part of Socratic elenchus: establishing a firm point of agreement for departure. The assumption, of course, is that the most basic definitions will be agreed upon, and we can build up, syllogistically, from these established agreements. Apply this to a real-world example. Take a disagreement that is common today (Should we support caps on pain-and-suffering lawsuits against doctors? Should we favor civil unions or gay marriage? How do we get out of Iraq?) What are the core disagreements? What basic definitions would everyone accept? How can you build up from these basic definitions?

‹ Plato’s Gorgias BH, pp. 130-138 [0] Selections from Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria BH, pp. 410-425 › [0]

Source URL:
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/node/1216