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Encyclopedia > Gadfly (social)

"Gadfly" is a term for people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or attempt to stimulate innovation by proving an irritant. Gadfly can refer to: Gadfly, a type of fly typically belonging to either the genus Tabanidae or Oestridae Gadfly (database), a relational database in the Python programming language Gadfly (social), a term for people who upset the status quo Gadfly Records, an independent record label SA-11 Gadfly (see Novator... Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... This article is about the English rock band. ...


The term "gadfly" was used by Plato to describe Socrates' relationship of uncomfortable goad to the Athenian political scene, which he compared to a slow and dimwitted horse. The Christian bible also references the gadfly in terms of political influence. Specifically, the book of Jeremiah, chapter 46 verse 20. The term has been used to describe many politicians and social commentators. For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... This page is about the Classical Greek philosopher. ... The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. ...


During his defense when on trial for his life, Socrates, according to Plato's writings, pointed out that dissent, like the tiny (relative to the size of a horse) gadfly, was easy to swat, but the cost to society of silencing individuals who were irritating could be very high. "If you kill a man like me, you will injure yourselves more than you will injure me," because his role was that of a gadfly, "to sting people and whip them into a fury, all in the service of truth." (The) Apology (of Socrates) is Platos version of the speech given by Socrates as he defends himself against the charges of being a man who corrupted the young, did not believe in the gods, and created new deities. Apology here has its earlier meaning (now usually expressed by the... Dissent is a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to an idea (eg. ...


In modern and local politics, gadfly has become a term that is also used pejoratively to refer to: It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with pejoration. ...

  1. A person who constantly complains about the political system "just to hear himself complain";
  2. A person who believes that he has to talk about every issue on an agenda;
  3. A person who consistently supports the losing candidate.

A political system is a system of politics and government. ... The political agenda is the issues and policies set out by either the executive or cabinet in government which dictate existing and near-future political news and debate. ... Look up Candidate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

See also

Deconstruction is a term in contemporary philosophy, literary criticism, and the social sciences, denoting a process by which the texts and languages of Western philosophy (in particular) appear to shift and complicate in meaning when read in light of the assumptions and absences they reveal within themselves. ...

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Gadfly (social) (212 words)
"Gadfly" is a term for people who upsets the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by proving an irritant.
During his defence when on trial for his life, Plato wrote that Socrates pointed out that dissent, like the tiny (relative to the size of a horse) gadfly, was easy to swat, but the cost to society of silencing individuals who were irritating could be very high.
Michael Moore typifies a contemporary gadfly, irritating the establishment with controversial questions and accusations.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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