Plato Vs. Rhetoric : Plato And Rhetoric

In evaluating Socrates ' success in arguing against Thrasymachus ' account, it is imperative to begin by appreciating Socrates ' intentions and the place of Thrasymachus ' account within that goal. As the literary director of Republic, Plato is well-positioned to articulate any arguments contained in Republic to his advantage, and I suggest that he very much does. Further, although Socrates is but Plato 's literary vehicle in Republic, for the sake of clarity I shall attribute and refer to arguments and views expressed throughout as belonging to Socrates.

In Plato’s Republic he has many examples of rhetoric. In regards to the controversial topic of women and eugenics in which Plato is almost forced into mentioning because of Adeimantus and Glaucon, he uses various rhetorical statements to portray his view on the matter. His readers believe women should be equal, so Plato attempts to persuade his readers into thinking he believes the same. For example, in the passage on women and family Plato states, “we shall assign these to each accordingly; but if the only difference apparent between them is that the female bears and the male begets, we shall not admit that this is the difference relevant for our purpose, but shall still maintain that our male and female Guardians ought to follow the same occupations” (164). He uses the women are equal and can do the same things as men strategy in order to make Athenian men understand what he is trying to say while still stroking their egos by using rhetoric. Men are in general are hard to persuade when it comes to power, so as a result Plato gives a sense of gender equality while at the same time still giving men the upper hand.

The sophists were rhetoric teachers in Athens who lived at the same the as Socrates. They were major intellectual figures, and the term “sophist” means “wise person.” At that time “sophistry” was roughly equivalent to “rhetoric,” and rhetoric is the art of persuasion using language. However, the term ‘sophistry’ is now generally used to refer to manipulative forms of rhetoric.

The history of rhetorical Invention is a long one that has been looked at in different dimensions and forms. Thus, with this vast history “invention” managed to claim different views from different rhetoricians on how it’s implemented and understood. To go further in describing my point of view I need to backtrack some of the views and notions that took invention to different venues in the history of rhetoric. Therefore, this paper will work to identify the arguments that plunged invention into “Current Traditional Rhetoric” and the “ New Rhetoric”. These, fields will only work to help recognize how invention has taken shape in the margins of “Second language Writing”. Thus, I being my search by introducing how the term “Invention” have delivered

In Phaedrus, Plato expands on the social implication that those who wield rhetoric ought to be just and act justly when utilizing it. This recurring theme is clearly portrayed through his analysis of love, the soul, and rhetoric itself. Phaedrus is written as a dialogue, with Phaedrus and Socrates discussing their views on rhetoric. Plato structures his writing so that Socrates is the one bestowing knowledge upon Phaedrus, his young and playful pupil, by asking pointed questions to which Phaedrus replies. The relationship between Phaedrus and Socrates is both one of a student and teacher but also one of lovers, made clear by Socrates’ soft attitude and affection towards Phaedrus.

According to Socrates, in order for authors to effectively use rhetoric to test a soul on its

Purposely difficult and intentionally obsessive, Plato’s Phaedrus is an exceedingly difficult read that defies all conventional logic as a piece of discourse. The text is extremely subjective, open to interpretation and individual creativity as to what or whom the narrative is about. Written by Plato, a close disciple of Socrates, this text is set along the Illissus river where Phaedrus and Socrates meet for a day of speech, debate, rhetoric and okay…flirting. Phaedrus leads of the day and recites a speech by his close friend Lysias, who Phaedrus considers to be a top speechmaker. Socrates then, after chiding by Phaedrus unleashes two speeches of his own that overshadow and refute Lysias claim so boldly that Phaedrus is so taken by the

In this statement, Socrates defines rhetoric as a mere false impression of the more pure concept of justice. The fallacious routine of cookery is very similar to the true art of medicine: each provides a vague image of something more ethical and

The Gorgias is a dialogue that starts off with a question of what rhetoric is, and from discussing what rhetoric is, develops into a inquiry of what justice and virtue is. While the readers should never leave the theme of rhetoric behind, this paper will focus solely on the topics of virtue and justice. By the second to last section of the Gorgias, we find that Socrates’ interlocutors are worn out by his refutations. Yet, Socrates cannot leave now, for his argument has not been complete. He has already been accused at least once of being womanly by being late to a fight; the philosopher cannot now accused of abandoning the virtue he champions and which we all might metaphorically agree he poses,

Plato and Aristotle are two rhetoricians than had a great impact on the history of rhetoric. Although they were similar in many ways, their use and definition of rhetoric were different. Plato had the more classical approach where he used rhetoric as a means of education to pass down his beliefs and practice of rhetoric to his students. He believed that it should be used to educate the masses, provoking thought, and thereby preserving that knowledge. Plato thought that rhetoric should be used to convey truth, truths already known to the audience, revealed through that dialectic critical thought. Plato also operated on absolute truths, things that are right or wrong, black or white. Aristotle was more modern in that he used rhetoric as a

Topic 1: Where does Socrates go wrong? Introduction Plato’s Gorgias is a detailed study of virtue in relation to the nature of rhetoric, art, power, temperance, justice, and good versus evil. It is a dialogue between Socrates and four fellow citizens: Chaerephon who is a friend of Socrates; Callicles who is another one of Socrates's peers as well as one of his critics in this dialogue; Gorgias who is the famous orator and Polus who is Gorgias's inexperienced but enthusiastic student. Although this is a fictitious dialogue, Socrates was Plato's real teacher and the views expressed by Socrates in the dialogue should be seen as Plato’s own views.

Rhetoric is an art form created before the reign of Gorgias, by Aristotle. As time progressed throughout the ages, Aristotle taught the art of rhetoric to his student Socrates, who eventually taught it to Plato. The art gradually adapted into the rhetoric we use today, providing the reason as to why Plato chooses to recreate the account of Socrates and Gorgias’ discussion. Plato shows us how Socrates’ knowledge of proper usage of rhetoric is vaster than that of Gorgias’. He helps us visualize the various ways he uses rhetoric, to provide the reason for his ability to use rhetoric better than the other Orators. This is illuminated by Socrates’ use of pathos, in his argument of pain and pleasure, the use of ethos in speaking about the comparison of medicine and gymnastics, and his use of logos in his debate on the body and soul. Plato places special consideration into choosing the topics he highlights in the story because of Socrates innate ability to refute these topics the way does.

The Sophist views and beliefs originated in Ancient Greece around 400 B.C.E. The Sophists were known as wandering rhetoricians who gave speeches to those who could afford to listen. The Sophists deeply believed in the power of rhetoric and how it could improve one’s life. Plato on the other hand was opposed to all Sophist beliefs. He viewed the Sophists as rhetorical manipulators who were only interested in how people could be persuaded that they learned the truth, regardless if it was in fact the truth. Plato basically opposed every view the Sophists held true and tried to disprove them throughout his many dialogues. The Sophists and Plato held two very contrasting views and this paper will attempt to sift through them all in hopes of

to the unjust rule of Athenian culture, first defining rhetoric in negative terms as a dangerous

Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher, pupil of Socrates, mentor of Aristotle and founder of the Academy, most famous for his philosophical works that played a major role in laying the foundations of Western philosophy. Plato’s work is a source of inestimable value since Socrates did not leave any material record behind but some of his ideas were put down by his mentee, Plato. However, Plato added a handful of his own philosophy and it is a difficult challenge for historians to ascertain who the original ‘father’ of these ideas was or to what extent they exchanged concepts and viewpoints.