The Denver Project for Humanistic Inquiry

Dr. Simon Critchley is among the most influential philosophers of our time. He is Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research, moderator for The New York Times' philosophy series The Stone, founder of the International Necronautical Society, and half of the band Critchley and Simmons. Join Dr. Critchley for a discussion on his most recent of many books, Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us.

In Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us, Critchley argues that tragedy articulates a philosophical orientation that challenges the traditional authority of philosophy by giving voice to what is contradictory, constricting, and limiting about human beings. In developing tragedy's philosophy, he turns to the ancient sophist Gorgias and the sophistical practice of antilogia, which examines both sides of an issue so as to make the weaker argument appear stronger. In addition to Gorgias, Critchley discusses Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Plato, Aristotle, and others.