Desirable Rhetoric In Phaedrus

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.

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.

In “The Apology”, Plato’s written account of Socrates’ trial, Socrates rhetorical goal is not only to exonerate himself from the crimes he’s been accused of, but, more importantly, to show how he is devoted to the pursuit of justice. Socrates shows this by demonstrating his determination for doing what is righteous, rather than focusing on being abdicated from his crimes. Throughout his speech, Socrates uses an emotional appeal to establish himself as being on the side of truth, justice, and wisdom, and shows that by trusting in his words, the jurymen would also be in support of these principles. Furthermore, Socrates is able to establish his support of the truth and justice by addressing specific rumors and accusations set against him using an appeal to logic. These logical appeals are used to show how his defense is the truth and that the allegations against him are opinion, rumor, and unjust.

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

Another rhetorical technique that Cicero uses in his speeches and teaches his student is the use of ethos. Ethos is an appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader. In other words, having the trust of the audience based on your speech. Cicero teaches in the On Oratory and Orator to “deliver you own opinions” (Cicero 17); meaning that your opinions will help your credibility image and help get the trust of the people. His speech to the senate he states, “I cannot bear people to say that such a horror could have been perpetrated in this country” (Cicero 83). Here this quote it demonstrates his passion and shows and dedications to this country. He is saying that he cannot see what

During the 2016 presidential election there have been numerous very memorable speeches made by the candidates, especially the democratic and republican nominees. Because speeches made by candidates are primarily how the American public form their opinions on those candidates, paying attention to the rhetoric they use is a good way to discover more about them and defend your voting position. If Plato could analyze the rhetoric of the major party candidates he would probably say they were untrustworthy. I think Plato’s position on modern political rhetoric would reflect the position he takes in the Gorgias, and the modern nominees can be compared to Callicles because they “flatter convention (Bizzell and Herzberg, 1990)” and use rhetoric to

Of course, Thucydides was certainly acquainted with pieces critical of Athenian democracy – the close intellectual relationship between certain of Thucydides’ core concerns, such as empire, and those of the somewhat previous Athenaion Politeia (Athenian Constitution) has long been the custom of such ancient writing. Among teachers of rhetoric were those who claimed openly to have developed a “political science” – what they called politike techne (Parry 1). But the rhetorical formation of politike techne was scarcely involved; it did not rest, as Thucydides supposed any appropriate appreciation of “political science” must, upon a methodical understanding of political structures and their active interaction within larger society. Therefore, Thucydides

Oedipus is extremely upset in this paragraph. You can tell because he is using words like weep, bitterness, and brilliant rites unfinished. This reinforces the reversal by stating about how he is extremely upset by the suicide of his mother/wife. He this follows this by saying his goodbyes to his loved children and lives out his life where Oedipus’s mother and father wanted him to die. He now has to live with this heart tearing truth.

We have been talking about education for several years. In Book V, Plato writes about what

Socrates was a unique character in ancient Greece, specifically in the city-state of Athens, which was the seat of democracy at the time. Athens practiced direct democracy where citizens, specifically male, directly participated in and voted on legislation. The implication is that most of the men of Athens served in some political way. A way to distinguish oneself apart from the citizenry was to invoke the power of speech and persuasion to be more respected, powerful, and thus wealthier. Socrates’s philosophy in Plato’s dialogue Gorgias is shown in contrast to rhetoric and its perceived benefits to the individual and the people of the democracy. It offers severe critiques on the practice of rhetoric, specifically for the harm it does instead

Technical terms play a huge role in rhetoric. These three items include pathos, logos, and ethos. Ethos, for example, represents credibility or an ethical appeal which involves persuasion. In Aristotle’s Rhetoric, it’s one of the three types of appeals you can make to your audience (along with pathos and logos). Your ethos is your trustworthy factor. According to the author, “When you use pathos and logos well, you build your ethos. You also build ethos as you write by using tone and style that are appropriate to the situation.”

1 Quote: “I read but little, but the least scraps of paper which lay on the ground, my holder, or tablecloth, afforded as much entertainment, in fact answered the same purpose as the Iliad” (236). Keywords: Scraps- a small piece, portion, or fragment, Afforded-offered, Iliad- Homer’s epic about the Greek siege of Troy (A great and interesting story) Analysis: This quote is an excellent example of Thoreau, interpreting the theme of the text. The theme is connected to Emerson’s self-reliance principle and the Transcendentalism principle of living simply. The author does not have a lot but he is still happy and content with what he does have.

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

The five canons are extracted from all three books of the rhetoric and include invention,