Too old to rate. Reading this in a yellowed library book, with edges of the pages flaking off and falling into my lap as I read, Gorgias made a strong argument, more unintentionally than intentionally, for the uselessness of rhetoric. Time has turned Plato's wisdom into despotism and Socrates' humility into a shield to hide his philosophy's flaws behind. Does Plato still offer anything to teach us today, not merely as history but as genuine philosophy? A lot of what he says are certainly good points -- for instance, that it's better to suffer evil than to do it -- but his reasoning seems shaky to a modern reader (or at least this one). Strangely enough, Plato's main value may be literary -- he does a great job of sketching characters simply by the way they argue.

I enjoyed Gorgias more than Meno, the other Platonic dialogue I've read, mainly because it seems like a more complete work and, unlike epistemology, modern science hasn't affected early thought about ethics or rhetoric much. Plato's brand of ethics is in many cases abhorrent to the modern min, but it was what every philosopher since has responded to, so it's important for anyone interested in the meaning of good to understand.

What can I say about Plato that hasn't already been said: either here, or by the editor of my edition, who was generous enough to point out all the flaws in Socrates' arguments. I read this for its discussion of rhetoric, and came away somewhat enlightened, stimulated, and angry. If that helps.

Diálogo sobre a retórica, onde o personagem Sócrates dialoga e desconstrói com habilidade o prestígio dos retóricos. Contra eles, ele constrói seu raciocínio que é melhor sofrer uma injustiça do que ser injusto, e atrela à vida boa a busca pela verdade e pela justiça.