ABSTRACT
In the Gorgias Plato focuses upon two contrasting ways of speaking, of being, and of establishing community with others, both of which can be described as forms of argument: "rhetoric", which he attacks, and "dialectic", which he defends and intends to exemplify. To ask how the Gorgias speaks to the modern lawyer, and how he might respond, will thus shed light, in directions: forward upon the ethical character of the modern practice of law, and backward upon the Gorgias itself. The true aim of a dialogue that works this way, of the Gorgias among others, is nothing less than the shared reconstitution of self and language. The tension between these two kinds of usage creates a problem deep in Greek language and culture, which it is a central purpose of the Gorgias to address and to elaborate. The most important Greek terms of value used in the Gorgias are agathon and it's opposite kakon, and kalon and its opposite aischron.
