Abstract
Western philosophy was born as a protest against sophistry: the commodification of rhetoric. This chapter studies the effects of money on the Greek mind, through the philosophy of Aristotle, the comedies of Aristophanes and the dialogues of Plato. In comedies like Plutus money is personified, while the slave Cario is objectified, and Aristophanes shows how these two processes are mutually determining. Aristophanes’ Clouds parallels Socrates’ insistence that the thought of people like Gorgias, Hippias, and Protagoras was determined by their need to sell their wisdom for a profit. Commodification inevitably instills a belief in the performative power of representation and a corresponding denigration of logos. Ancient Athens thus established a dialectic between logos and eidolon that continues to dominate Western thought to this day.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
