Callicles
E200428
Callicles is a character in Plato’s dialogue "Gorgias," known for defending a philosophy of natural justice that glorifies power and self-interest over conventional morality.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Callicles canonical | 2 |
Statements (35)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
ancient Greek literary character
ⓘ
fictional character ⓘ |
| appearsAlongside |
Gorgias
ⓘ
Polus ⓘ |
| appearsIn | Gorgias ⓘ |
| arguesThat |
laws and conventions are made by the weak to restrain the strong
ⓘ
natural justice allows the superior to rule and take more ⓘ the life of the undisciplined pleasure-seeker is preferable to the philosophic life ⓘ |
| associatedConcept |
natural right of the stronger
ⓘ
physis versus nomos ⓘ pleasure and desire without strict self-restraint ⓘ |
| createdBy | Plato ⓘ |
| criticizes |
Socratic concern with justice and moderation
ⓘ
philosophy as suitable only for youth ⓘ |
| culturalContext | Classical Athens ⓘ |
| dialogueLanguage | Ancient Greek ⓘ |
| dialogueSection | appears in the later part of Plato’s Gorgias ⓘ |
| discussesTopic |
justice
ⓘ
law and convention ⓘ pleasure ⓘ power ⓘ |
| ethicalStance |
endorses unrestrained satisfaction of strong desires for the superior man
ⓘ
rejects the idea that suffering injustice is worse than committing it ⓘ |
| literaryRole | interlocutor of Socrates ⓘ |
| moralView |
glorifies power and self-interest
ⓘ
rejects egalitarian justice as contrary to nature ⓘ |
| opposesViewOf | Socrates ⓘ |
| philosophicalFunction |
foil to Socratic ethics
ⓘ
representative of radical immoralism in Platonic dialogues ⓘ |
| philosophicalPosition |
advocate of the superiority of the strong over the weak
ⓘ
critic of conventional morality ⓘ defender of natural justice ⓘ proponent of hedonism oriented toward power and dominance ⓘ |
| textualStatus | character whose historical existence is uncertain ⓘ |
| workGenre | Socratic dialogue ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.