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Agadfly is a person who interferes with thestatus quo of asociety orcommunity by posing novel, potentially upsetting questions, usually directed at authorities. The term has a modern use but it was originally associated with the ancient GreekphilosopherSocrates, as portrayed inPlato'sApology when Socrates was ontrial for his life.
The term "gadfly" (Ancient Greek:μύωψ[1],mýops[2]) was used byPlato in theApology[3] to describeSocrates' acting as an uncomfortable goad to theAthenian political scene, like a spur or biting fly arousing a sluggish horse.
Duringhis defense when on trial for his life, Socrates, according to Plato's account, pointed out thatdissent, like thegadfly, 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 comparable to that of a gadfly: "to sting people and whip them into a fury, all in the service of truth".[4]
Dominic Scott notes that in theApology, the allusion speaks well of Socrates, whereas in theMeno, the image which compares Socrates to astingray who "numbs" his interlocutors into silence and confusion has the opposite effect.[5]
The image used by Socrates is applied in modernpolitics:[4] a gadfly is someone who persistently challenges people in positions ofpower, thestatus quo or a popular position.[6] For example,Morris Kline wrote, "There is a function for the gadfly who poses questions that many specialists would like to overlook.Polemics is healthy."[7]
The dictionary definition ofgadfly at Wiktionary