Ruling oneself: Platonic hedonism and the quality of citizenship
Ruling oneself: Platonic hedonism and the quality of citizenship
In this paper, I examine how the idea of self-rule is dramatised and articulated in the Protagoras and the Gorgias with respect to the apparently different treatments of hedonism. Looking at the former dialogue, I describe how the hedonist premise develops from a dramatic image of disorder, specifically the absence of self-rule. I then consider whether the evidence from that dialogue has any bearing on the Gorgias' discussion of hedonism.
I conclude that the Socratic rejection of hedonism in that text is about the Calliclean abandonment of any concern for self-rule, an abandonment that actually masquerades as a commitment to self-rule. This analysis is used to present a more general account of what Socrates considers to be the capacities required for good citizenship.
85-107
Bentley, R.K.
bd4dc158-ec56-4fa0-a8ca-615642243fbb
2003
Bentley, R.K.
bd4dc158-ec56-4fa0-a8ca-615642243fbb
Bentley, R.K.
(2003)
Ruling oneself: Platonic hedonism and the quality of citizenship.
Polis: The Journal of the Society for Greek Political Thought, 20 (1-2), .
Abstract
In this paper, I examine how the idea of self-rule is dramatised and articulated in the Protagoras and the Gorgias with respect to the apparently different treatments of hedonism. Looking at the former dialogue, I describe how the hedonist premise develops from a dramatic image of disorder, specifically the absence of self-rule. I then consider whether the evidence from that dialogue has any bearing on the Gorgias' discussion of hedonism.
I conclude that the Socratic rejection of hedonism in that text is about the Calliclean abandonment of any concern for self-rule, an abandonment that actually masquerades as a commitment to self-rule. This analysis is used to present a more general account of what Socrates considers to be the capacities required for good citizenship.
Text
35171-01.pdf
- Version of Record
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy
More information
Published date: 2003
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 35171
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/35171
ISSN: 0142-257X
PURE UUID: 227b39ef-c56e-46a6-a5f7-7687a0256b1e
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 19 May 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 07:50
Export record
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics