In this episode, Mark, Mike, and Hunter begin the first of a three part series on the Gorgias. This is one of Plato's longest dialogues and so it needs lots of care and attention.
Gorgias is the greatest of the sophists. In this dialogue, he and his students claim to practice the "greatest of all crafts," rhetoric. The discussion between Plato and the trio of Gorgias and his students focuses on the contrast between Rhetoric and Dialectic discussions as a means to find the truth.
As usual, Mark has a hard time liking the dialogue until the group starts talking more about the ideas. This dialogue touches on a lot of subjects from temperance and morality, to nihilism and pleasure.
The Gorgias caps out the section on sophists and rhetoric. After these three episodes, we will move into more movies.
