Purification through emotions

The role of shame in Plato’s Sophist 230b4–e5

Bibliographic Data

ID8857733
AuthorsLaura Candiotto (0000-0001-5293-2836, University of Edinburgh, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume50
Issue6-7
Pages576-585
Publication date2017-09-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducational Philosophy and Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0013-1857 • E-ISSN: 1469-5812
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00131857.2017.1373338
OpenAlexW2752304534
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited21

This article proposes an analysis of Plato’s Sophist (230b4–e5) that underlines the bond between the logical and the emotional components of the Socratic elenchus, with the aim of depicting the social valence of this philosophical practice. The use of emotions characterizing the ‘elenctic’ method described by Plato is crucial in influencing the audience and is introduced at the very moment in which the interlocutor attempts to protect his social image by concealing his shame at being refuted. The audience, thanks to Plato’s literary strategy, realizes the failures of the interlocutor even as he refuses to accept them. As a result, his social image becomes tarnished. Purification through shame reveals how the medium is strictly related to the endorsement of specific ethical and political goals, making the Platonic dialogs the tools for the constitution of a new paideia

Constitution · Epistemology · Paideia · Political science · Politics · Shame · Sociology · Socratic method · Sophist · Theology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Law · Medieval and Classical Philosophy · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access