Plato's Criticism Of Rhetoric

In speaking of effective rhetorical persuasion, we must appeal to our target audience in a way that will get them to accept or act upon the point of view we are trying to portray. Aristotle said that we persuade others by three means: (1) by the appeal to their reason (logos); (2) by the appeal to their emotions (pathos); and (3) by the appeal of our personality or character (ethos) (Corbett and Connors 32). When Socrates, an infamous rhetorician, gave his “apology” to his fellow Athenians after being accused of atheism or not believing in the gods and corrupting the youth with similar teachings, he employed all three modes of persuasion to prove his innocence. Despite the

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.

Aristotle also believed that rhetoric can be forensic, epideictic, and deliberative, which is the second division of his work. The art of persuasion and a way of advising about things to come is the best definition of deliberate rhetoric. This pattern has been used throughout the film and it is another obvious appeal to make it more effective and achieve its goals. Aristotle argues that “for using deliberative rhetoric, the speaker needs to consider deterrents, inducements and the motives people have for avoiding or doing the actions in the question”

This prevents the misuse of rhetoric to persuade souls to misdeeds. The theme is demonstrated throughout Phaedrus, as noted in the allegory regarding love as well as Socrates’ analyses of the soul and rhetoric. His own use of rhetorical strategies allows Plato to effectively educate his speech while swaying them to support his ideals of universal truth and

Aristotle believed Rhetoric’s main purpose was to persuade an audience. (Rorty 1996). Aristotle claimed that there were 3 main appeals that the persuader would use in order to convince the audience that their view is the right one, or that their product is the best. Aristotle would argue that these arguments all have a basis in “common sense”, meaning that the persuader can come to a conclusion based off of the audiences shared, and agreed upon knowledge (Gregoric 2007). Logos, Ethos, and Pathos are the three type of appeals Aristotle uses to describe the rhetoric of persuasion.

What is unusual about the first section of the Gorgias is that, rather than disabuse one for claiming to know some Y or Z, Plato tried to show that rhetoric is one of moral bankruptcy. Socrates wished to know what is rhetoric and its purpose. Gorgias is consulted by Socrates since he was deemed an expert in rhetoric. Rhetoric for Gorgias is the ability to persuade others, specifically jurors in the courts, members of the Council, and citizens attending the assembly (Plato, 13, 452e). However, Socrates astutely found that other professions have the ability to persuade. Gorgias responded by stating that the ability to persuade is specifically for mass meetings (Plato, 15, 454b). Persuasion can take two paths: one that confers conviction without proper understanding and another which confers knowledge. Rhetoric as described by Gorgias is persuasion which leads to conviction. Therefore, rhetoric is an agent of persuasion to produce conviction and not to educate citizens. The nature of persuasion produced is based on opinion and not knowledge. The rhetorician is an expert in knowing what the masses want, which is pleasure. From this knowledge the rhetorician can please the crowd to gain their support. In contemporary American politics this is an indispensable ability where the citizens’ passions are used in order for the politician to be elected to public

Gorgias is a Socratic dialogue that aims to determine what rhetoric truly is. Socrates seeks the true definition of rhetoric, attempting to pinpoint the essence of rhetoric and unveil the flaws of the sophistic oratory popular in Athens at this time. The art of persuasion was widely considered necessary for political and legal advantage in classical Athens, and rhetoricians promoted themselves as teachers of this fundamental skill. Some, like Gorgias, were foreigners attracted to Athens because of its reputation for intellectual and cultural sophistication. In Gorgias, Socrates argues that philosophy is an art, whereas rhetoric is a skill based on mere experience. To Socrates, most rhetoric in practice is merely flattery. In examining the role advertising plays in our

Rhetoric is used to convince an audience to perform any action the speaker wishes to be done; because of this students need to be able to use rhetoric so that their thoughts or ideas may not just be washed away in the future. Students can use need this useful tool later in life to be able to change their environment and control their audience. For example, when a student is in an interview and the interview

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

A debate between Gorgias and Socrates is sparked throughout Gorgias. Socrates argument consists of trying to search for the precise essence of rhetoric. Gorgias thinks you need rhetoric, whereas Socrates believes people need knowledge. In the first part of Gorgias Socrates tries to prove that an entire sphere of human exertion, persuasive speech, is morally inoperative. He believes that rhetoric doesn’t require anyone to understand about the subject matter about which they speak. Rhetoric is really only a talent for persuading people into believing something instead of arguing using knowledge. Socrates argues rhetoric is made up of telling people what they want to hear instead of telling them the truth. When Gorgias is unexpectedly not

Bizzell and Herzberg, authors of The Rhetorical Tradition, describe Callicles’ use of rhetoric as conventional because, “he must seek to become similar to his audience in order to persuade them (Bizzell and Herzberg, 1990),” which ultimately makes him lose pieces of himself. Socrates does not care about appealing to the masses with rhetoric as much as he cares about his own philosophical thinking. Because of this, it can be decided that Plato would find error not only in Donald Trump, but also in the democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. Both candidates are using rhetoric that they think applies to their audiences in order to gain votes. For example, Trump is winning in the demographic of white middle-class males without a college degree, so he says things that will appeal to them. Clinton is winning the young adult vote, so her marketing and her speeches are geared toward young adults. Where Plato would find fault with these actions is that neither Clinton nor Trump have any experience being young adults in 2016 or middle class voters. So in order to appeal to these demographics, both candidates had to change parts of who they are to make their rhetoric appealing, and according to Plato, truth and knowledge cannot be found within the confines of

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

For hundreds of years, Plato has been admired as a writer, a master rhetorician, an artist, and above all, a philosopher; however, Plato's backlashes against sophistry and art have led to much confusion concerning his ideas and beliefs. John Poulakos says of Plato, "[F]or most rhetoricians Plato has always played the same role he assigned to the sophists--the enemy" (Nienkamp 1). Plato will always appear to be the skilled rhetorician or artist who speaks out against rhetoric and art. In Apology and Phaedrus we see the character of Socrates rail against writing because it can quickly get out of control of the author and just as easily be misinterpreted, yet Plato is known for his skillful dialogical writing. In

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 Aristotle’s Rhetoric, Aristotle argues that rhetoric should be used to portray the truth and to persuade people to follow the truth, not to manipulate the audience. According to Aristotle, rhetoric is both a natural method of persuasion and something that can be learned. Aristotle says, “ordinary people do this either at random or through practice and from acquired habit” (Rhetoric). There are three modes of persuasion, logos, ethos, and pathos, each used in a unique way. “The modes of persuasion are the only true constituents of the art: everything else is merely accessory,” according to Aristotle (Ibid). For rhetoric to be effective each mode of persuasion must be used correctly - ethos to exhibit ethics, logos