The Capacity of Power 🏛️✨
Part of The Carlyle Lectures – The Shape of Democracy, this third lecture is delivered by Jill Frank, President White Professor of History & Political Science at Cornell University. The session examines how Plato distinguishes between two forms of “power”: kratos, associated with domination and mastery, and dunamis, the capacity to act or refrain from acting.
Through close readings of Gorgias and other dialogues, the lecture explores how reframing kratos through dunamis can reshape contemporary thinking about democratic agency, responsibility, and collective action.
What to expect:
- 📚 A philosophical deep dive into Plato’s concepts of kratos and dunamis
- 🧠 Insights into how these ideas illuminate tensions within democratic theory
- 🏺 Close textual analysis of key Platonic dialogues