Kairos and Sex

Blog Post #2

ARCS Chapter 2

Kairos by definition is a loose interpretation of time, and most active people in society today cannot stand the idea of time loosely interpreted; everyone has a schedule, a due date, a specific time for which an event most definitely has to happen, or else there might be consequences.  The Greeks used chronos to describe exact instances of time, things that were linear, like our idea of a clock, and they also used kairos to describe a quality of time rather than a length.  Kairos was about how the context, the situation, and the events going on in culture can all affect an argument.  As people change so does the availability of an argument. 

In a rhetorical argument ethos, pathos, and logos are implemented in order to form the proof for which the argument can be properly put forth and then argued.  Moreover, within the history or rhetoric there have been many instances of when the principles of rhetoric were not always the same from one master to another—for example with Isocrates, Plato, and Aristotle. 

Take the issue of homosexuality and look at it through the lens of ancient education, not only rhetorical education, but education for males in general.  It was commonplace for men to partake in homosexual activities and as such they were not frowned upon by society because they were themselves the members of society.  Education was everything and these educated men were involved in homosexuality; therefore, there was no room for harassment or embarrassment from society—they were the society, those whom matter anyways.  Where as today, consider how in recent years have homosexuals only begun to obtain rights and recognition, and the essence of homosexuality is completely removed from the realms of education and citizenship.  Because of kairos, homosexuality during the time of the ancients Greeks was accepted because it was arguably a factor of a male’s education, rather than a “life style”, but in our most recent history homosexuals have not been given the right circumstances to help their argument, the quality of the timing has not been right for the rest of the world to question its legitimacy.   

Gorgias discussed homosexuality and sexual tensions as the very basis for which education was desired, people even described his teachings as “sexual pleasures”.  Gorgias used his words a weapon, even a tool as powerful as magic and drugs and this power came from his ability to reason and thus defend those who could not speak or know how to themselves, like women.  The anonymous author of the Dissoi Logoi, touched on how all comparisons in life, everything that is opposite should all be discussed and those most important of course involved “eating and drinking and sexual intercourse”.  The prevalence of sex in ancient culture was something so much more commonplace and the situational timing allowed for such an acceptance.  In the recent era, sex has been more of an aspect of privacy: what is not discussed or appropriate in common culture, although one might argue that it has resurged and has always remained at the forefront of modern culture.