tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223797477664258632.post1516746096671445473..comments2023-09-11T01:18:18.763-07:00Comments on Natural Right and Biology: The Biology of Physical & Moral Disgust in Plato's GorgiasKen Blanchardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09580209017016829598noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223797477664258632.post-59899304680862558382013-03-01T22:27:04.650-08:002013-03-01T22:27:04.650-08:00Travis: thanks very much for the comment. Plato h...Travis: thanks very much for the comment. Plato had good reason for despising the orators and sophists of Athens: he thinks that they killed Socrates. I think he was right.<br /><br />However, Plato's Socrates was not criticizing public speakers as such; he was distinguishing between those who were skilled in persuasion without scruple and the art that aimed at the just and the good. <br /><br />Yes, we can be fascinated by moral corruption. That is a bit like the urge to look at a dead body. However, it is precisely because it disgusts us that it becomes interesting. We know that spoiled meat is bad and we know that Clinton was sleazy. Ken Blanchardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09580209017016829598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223797477664258632.post-28727472450141437252013-02-28T22:51:34.445-08:002013-02-28T22:51:34.445-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223797477664258632.post-86649746620370646032013-02-28T06:44:20.390-08:002013-02-28T06:44:20.390-08:00I love the line that Rhetoric is "a species o...I love the line that Rhetoric is "a species of flattery that gratifies its practitioners and audience while doing them more harm than good."<br /><br />While I agree that Socrates is right in taking down Polus for his advocacy of killing with impunity, I think (and always have) that Plato must have either been offended by orators or just dispised them because of the way he takes them to task. Oration can do good - in fact, they can do great things for our society.<br /><br />Unfortunately, some orators are like Polus - using the power of their words only to their own advantage.<br /><br />What is interesting is you point about people being turned away from something "morally disgusting behavior." Are people really turned off by this or they SAY they are and yet are enthralled by it? People were supposidly offended by Bill Clinton's affair with Lewinsky, but that didn't stop people from wanting to hear more and more about it. Are we really turned off by it or are our interests peaked by it? Obviously the more repulsive the act the more we are disgusted by it, but some acts just find more interest - why is that?<br /><br />Thanks for the post - love reading Gorgias - even if I'm not in a class to discuss it!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18214822260635325820noreply@blogger.com