Callicles

 My opinion of Nietzsche 'Callicles'

Trying to debunk Socrates is a noble lie I will not admit but care to deny. This means you can characterize the argument as valid but it doesn't make it true. Therefore, a weak attempt at debunking and at best unconvincing critique of Socrates. It fails.

Here is the argument I've read and critique.... Verbatim.

- Marco

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Callicles

Plato's Gorgias is simply the most existential piece of writing ever created. Nobody managed to surpass it, and nobody will. In the Gorgias you have the essence of the existential philosophy - with the question ''what life to follow''? The life of philosophy (and arts, morals, etc), or the life of politics? That the life of philosophy is ultimately in conflict and at war with politics is the most predominant theme in Plato.

For this reason the first word in the Gorgias is ''war.'' The dialogue is nothing more than a war between Callicles (who utters the word ''war'') and Socrates. This is a war between the manly Callicles and the effeminate Socrates, a war between the way of life of the real men, thus, the way of politics, and the way of life of the slaves, of the slave morality defended by Socrates. Nobody attacked the philosophical way of life more violent than Callicles, thus the Socratic way of life, and the question is, why did Plato do it?

What really triggered Callicles to declare war on Socrates is Socrates' insistence that it is better to suffer injustice, than to do it. Callicles says that this is the life of the slave who is impotent to cause violence, thus, for a slave, to suffer injustice is a noble thing. The slave, because of his impotence, considers that doing injustice is wicked. Because Socrates insists on this way of life - the life of the slave, Callicles accuses Socrates of trying to ''transvalue the values'' of men. For Callicles, and for every man out there, to suffer injustice is just wrong, with the caveat that you have the power to cause injustice or violence and harm. Those wo don't have the power are slaves, and for them a life of suffering and impotence is better, but for the real man, causing violence and injustice, especially when wronged is the noble life. Callicles defends the existential life of power, whilst Socrates defends the life of the powerless and impotent slave who can't revenge a wrong. And the slaves invent religions and morals to carry an imaginative revenge - and this is what Socrates does in the myth at the end.

This is the main reason why Nietzsche himself attacked Socrates. For Nietzsche Socrates is nothing more than a ''roturier'', a peasant, who ultimately destroyed the noble aristocracy he came in contact with. For Nietzsche, the aristocracy was defeated by the slave morality with a terrible weapon - the dialectics, the main culprit being Socrates. In the Gorgias we have the best example of this Nietzschean war - the dialectic, and the life of the slave being at war with the noble aristocracy played by Callicles.

One of the most decisive Calliclean attacks on Socrates and his philosophical way of life consists in the fact that people who pursue philosophy late in life are useless people, who can't do anything else, who are inferior to all other activities, and who can't compete in the harsh political arena. These ''effeminate'' men choose a life of philosophy and arts, and thus a sedentary life, from cowardice, a cowardice that ultimately will corrupt the whole of society. This is Rousseau's attack on philosophy and arts - philosophy and arts make men effeminate, unable to lead a virtuous life, which will ultimately corrupt everything, and society will crumble.

In the dialogue, Socrates, with all his dialectical slave morality tries to defeat Callicles, and Socrates is a good ''mob orator'' and a demagogue, and in speech Callicles is indeed defeated, simply because Socrates is a better trumpeter. But Callicles's principle remains victorious - the life in the pursuit of power is the best life.

Callicles is superior to Socrates just because Callicles studied philosophy. Philosophy must be studied when young, as a preparation for the life of the real man, the life of politics. But, Socrates has remained a philosopher as an old man, and this is a mistake. Politics for Callicles means to have friends, to build a network of power so you can defend yourself from enemies. But, Socrates remaining a philosopher, thus poor and destitute of power, he will be a sure victim if somebody was to accuse him of something. And Callicles attacks Socrates on exactly this thing - that philosophy makes you weak, unable to defend yourself, and will ultimately lead to your doom.

The transvaluation of values defended by Socrates, is the main motif of Nietzsche's entire philosophical life. Nietzsche is best understood as defending the position of Callicles at war with slave morality and the likes of Socrates. Just because slave morality won over the noble morality, Nietzsche warns us, the time is now ripe for a new war, and a new transvaluation of values, in which the noble morality defended by Callicles will defeat the slave morality of Socrates.