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Overview
Gorgias is a Socratic dialogue by Plato that was composed in Plato’s early period, around 380 BCE
. It is focused on defining virtue and its attainment in keeping with Plato’s overarching philosophical project of defining noble and proper human existence. The work’s detailed study of virtue exists in the form of a mostly friendly (though at times scathing) conversation between Socrates and four fellow citizens with Socrates probing into the nature of rhetoric, art, power, temperance, justice, and good versus evil.While Gorgias depicts a fictitious interaction, the words spoken by Socrates in it should be taken as indicative of the actual Socratic framework and presentation, in addition to serving as an expression of Plato’s own positions.
Read the free full text of the work, the overall summary, and explanations of important quotes from Gorgias. Or, learn more by studying SparkNotes guides to other works by Plato.
