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Author Tarnopolsky, Christina H., 1964- author.

Title Prudes, perverts, and tyrants : Plato's Gorgias and the politics of shame / Christina H. Tarnopolsky
Published Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, ©2010

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Description 1 online resource (xiii, 218 pages)
Contents Plato's Gorgias and the Athenian politics of shame. Shame and rhetoric in Plato's Gorgias ; Shaming Gorgias, Polus, and Callicles ; Plato on shame in democratic Athens ; Socratic vs. Platonic shame -- Plato's Gorgias and the contemporary politics of shame. Prudes, perverts, and tyrants : Plato and the contemporary politics of shame and civility ; What's so negative about the "negative" emotions?
Summary In recent years, most political theorists have agreed that shame shouldn't play any role in democratic politics because it threatens the mutual respect necessary for participation and deliberation. But Christina Tarnopolsky argues that not every kind of shame hurts democracy. In fact, she makes a powerful case that there is a form of shame essential to any critical, moderate, and self-reflexive democratic practice. Through a careful study of Plato's Gorgias, Tarnopolsky shows that contemporary conceptions of shame are far too narrow. For Plato, three kinds of shame and shaming practices were possible in democracies, and only one of these is similar to the form condemned by contemporary thinkers. Following Plato, Tarnopolsky develops an account of a different kind of shame, which she calls "respectful shame." This practice involves the painful but beneficial shaming of one's fellow citizens as part of the ongoing process of collective deliberation. And, as Tarnopolsky argues, this type of shame is just as important to contemporary democracy as it was to its ancient form. --From publisher's description
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Plato. Gorgias.
SUBJECT Plato. Gorgias
Gorgias (Plato) fast
Subject Shame -- Political aspects
Democracy -- Philosophy
PHILOSOPHY -- Social.
PHILOSOPHY -- Ethics & Moral Philosophy.
PHILOSOPHY -- Political.
Democracy -- Philosophy
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781400835065
1400835062
1282645048
9781282645042