Abstract

GALLEGO, Julián. in Aritophanes' Clouds: Formal scheme and point of closure of discursive proliferation. Circe clás. mod. [online]. 2006, n.10, pp.177-193. ISSN 1851-1724.

The debate between the just argument and the unjust one in Aristophanes' Clouds is analyzed as a parody of the Protagoras' antilogical method, and it is proposed the hypothesis that the comic poet uses the formal scheme of discursive operation related to the Protagorean model. It is also postulated that this model attempts to establish an ending point to speech proliferation by forcing a new place with respect to the couple (formally, A / -A), which supposes the same field of existence for both arguments. The search of a new place, nonexistent from the point of view of the alleged couple, is linked with the sophistic working which looks for the acceptation of what at first is rejected, that is to say, to produce that what is not considered valid appears as valid. When finally this happens, the binary system of places "blows up", in the sense that the formal opposition around which the debate had been organized has already no effect. Then, the new place is the one of a victorious, relative, transitory, and circumstantial truth, which is socially accepted until a new debate opens the discursive game by means of refutation.

Keywords : Aristophanes; Sophistry; Speech; Decision.

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