Callicles and the Refusal of Discourse in the Philosophy of Éric Weil

Abstract

Éric Weil presents one of the twentieth century’s most innovative analyses of violence. According to Weil, violence cannot be sufficiently grasped as stemming from ignorance or from the weakness of will. Weil accepts that discourse reduces violence, but also claims that reasonable discourse cannot overcome radical violence. Individuals are always faced with a choice between submitting to the norms of discourse or refusing to be bound by normative behavior. Callicles provides a clear example of this problem. The individual can always extract themselves from reasonable discourse, either by refusing to speak or by choosing violence.