Phaedrus Views On Rhetoric

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.

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

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

Persuasion is an essential skill for rhetoricians. Since all a rhetorician needs is not the truth but his own opinion, persuasion is necessary to address the assembly. While persuasion could be used to lead a city to making the right decisions and gaining glory, the power of persuasion could be also abused or used by the wrong person. Demosthenes uses his rhetorical skills to push Athens away from its course of destruction. He also advocates for policies which are beneficial to Athens. Demades and the other orators were supportive of Athens becoming allies which was the wrong course of action because it led to the destruction of Athens. Someone could misuse their skill of persuasion due to lack of knowledge and morality. Good orators can also have flaws, like Demosthenes and his susceptibility to bribery. The negative potential can be reduced if the rhetoricians are philosophers and knowledgeable of ethics. Socrates and Phaedrus’s discussion shows how truth is relative to whoever is most persuasive. While Plutarch does not state any solutions to reducing negative potential in rhetorical speeches, Plato’s method for giving a persuasive speech worthy of praise is by dialectic speech. Both Plato and Plutarch acknowledge the power of rhetoric and persuasion to affect the course of events in both a positive and negative way and recognize the problem that comes with it.

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.”

Plato’s attempt in Phaedrus to establish a basis for a true art of rhetoric is seen through his characterizations and plot developments conveying themes throughout. What is true art of rhetoric? True art of rhetoric is the art of influencing soul and mind. Adapting to audience’s soul is the art of rhetoric, soul of love, soul of lust, and soul of honor. It is a means of persuasion regardless of content or a means of dialectic between two people or more who want the truth regardless of who wins. “Rhetoric is the art of directing the soul by means of speech” (Plato). Plato centers on what happens in the soul when persuasion occurs. The art of rhetoric is a soul-moving power of discourse. Discourse prompted by the love of wisdom and philosophy,

Obviously due to recent public events dealing with our political figures, and things we see on social media, when we hear the word rhetoric we often cringe. Yet there are very few that actually have a true grasp of the words meaning. When we first started the semester we heard rhetoric being described as “mere crookery”. Rhetoric is simply the process of making messages and messages made by that process, and these messages are used to influence social attitudes, the values and even actions of the intended audiences. If we look at it in the same lens of Aristotle, rhetoric is to lead us to the best possible truth.

He claims that rhetoric is a practice used by corrupt men to appear and persuade others to believe they are good. Plato felt that rhetoric was often used with bad intentions and very little knowledge. Since he knew the power of persuasion that rhetoricians had, he was fearful of such rhetoric. Therefore, he taught that rhetoric should be used dialectically, by asking questions in order to find a truth that is transcendent. Finding the “Truth” was the only way to ensure the rhetoric was being used ethically and for its intended purpose.

“Rhetoric, which is the use of language to inform or persuade, is very important in shaping public opinion. We are very easily fooled by language and how it is used by others.” Ray Comfort couldn’t have said it better. Rhetoric is a very powerful tool used in the English language. It has the power to conform people’s minds to fit the ideal society or influence their opinions about a certain subject. It is everywhere! It can be found in books, movies, commercials, debates, and speeches just to name a few. In Aristotle’s book, Rhetoric, he mentions all of the analytical strategies that are used when this literary art is practiced. These strategies will be applied to three different works of literature.

In Ancient Greece, it was a popular activity for citizens to go and listen to speeches given by professional orators. This common practice is also known as rhetoric, and was an important part of education for the Greeks. It allowed politicians and others who needed to speak publicly the opportunity to persuade audiences effectively. As with every good thing, there is the opportunity to corrupt it or misuse it and that is what Socrates questions in much of the dialogue Gorgias. The concept of oratory is not completely agreed upon in the discussion between Gorgias and Socrates.

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

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.

In Gorgias, named for the Sicilian sophist and rhetorician featured in the dialogue, Socrates speaks with Gorgias concerning the nature of rhetoric as compared with philosophy; also, he speaks with Gorgias’s pupil Polus concerning the tyrant and how he truly is the most unhappiest of all, despite any ill-gotten gains they may have attained. Socrates’ distaste –

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