Rhetoric In Gorgias By Socrates

Socrates makes a more compelling argument throughout the writing of Gorgias and puts Gorgias in the spotlight numerous times. Throughout Gorgias Gorgias is simply answering Socrates’ questions that actually contradict what Gorgias said about rhetoric and knowledge before his conversation gets intense with Socrates. Socrates compels his argument in his usual manner by obtaining acceptance in certain propositions that Gorgias cannot deny, and then Socrates shows that they lead to conclusions very different from what he had imagined. Socrates says at the beginning that he does not want to hear a speech by Gorgias, but instead wants to engage in a conversation with him. Gorgias makes wonderful claims for the power of rhetoric, Socrates wants

     In the Encomium of Helen, Gorgias attempts to prove Helen’s innocence since she is blamed to be the cause of the Trojan War. Gorgias uses rhetoric to persuade listeners to believe why there are only four reasons to explain why Helen was driven to Troy. All of which he will argue were not her fault. Fate was the first cause, followed by force. Gorgias then seems to focus the most on the power of Logos, or words. Finally he explains how she could have been compelled by love (82B116).

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.

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

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

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

In this week’s reading of the “Rhetorical Approaches to College Writing”, the foundations for rhetoric were introduced. The book describes rhetoric as a word with many definitions that all have a commonality. From the reading rhetoric seems to have a way of calling people to action in some distort manner similar to enticement. From the reading three definitions of rhetoric were given by different sources. The first source being from a ancient Greek philosopher who defined rhetoric as, “the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion”(RACW pg.3). I learned that for Aristotle the Greek philosopher rhetoric was a means of political engagement in civic life (RACW pg.4). The second source was from another

Gorgias was a Sophist by nature of that time but rejected the title to be a “Rhetorician” and had the beliefs like the Sophist that rhetoric was a universal right. He believed that the common man deserved to learn rhetoric from teachers if they could conjure up the large amounts money needed to learn from renown teachers of Gorgias status. Many from outside of rhetoric would say it was incredibly wrong to charge people who couldn’t afford to pay for teaching and spend all their money just to learn rhetoric. What Gorgias would argue is that those outsiders who found it wrong to charge money did not understand the power and influence rhetoric gave to someone in Ancient Athens. Rhetoric gave the common man the ability to yield conversation in the polis, debates, and

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

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

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

The argument begins with Polus telling Socrates that rhetoric and oratory can give you great power and high regard. He likens their position to tyrants who do what they see fit. To this Socrates says, " I say, Polus,

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 –