Rhetoric Used In Socrates

“Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men,” Plato said that and it could not be any truer. Rhetorical devices change things up, you can argue all you want but until you put some kind of rhetorical device in your speech you will change very few minds. Rhetorical devices have changed the way we argue our views.

Often times in daily life, a person will use rhetoric. Whether it’s arguing with a sibling or the sound of an alarm, rhetoric is in use. Rhetoric is effective persuasion and persuasion is swaying someone to do or believe in something. The reason rhetoric is important to be taught in school is because not only does it often show up in daily life but it can show up in the media as well.

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 gives you an avenue to tell a story from your perspective in a way that connects with the intended audience without having to be one hundred percent substantiated. This writing style is evident in almost everything we read from billboards to Internet ads and even political speeches.

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

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

I have learned that rhetoric is something I use regularly in my daily life. Unknowingly, I have been using this art of persuasion for even the most everyday things. Now that I can identify rhetoric, I see it everywhere in the form of politics, media, advertising, parental rearing, public speaking, personal, and even at our work place.

The word rhetoric is a form of literature that is used when one is trying to be effective in speaking and writing. Most people will utilize rhetoric writing at the same time they are trying to write a persuasive essay and not even know it. Not only is it used to persuade but also to motivate the reader on a specific topic or subject. I believe its the most effective style of writing and speaking that there is. This brings me back about two years ago when I wanted a fast sports car for my 17th birthday. I knew it wasn't going to come easy since my parents were very aware of my poor driving habits. This is when I realized I was going to have to be rhetoric, so I did just that. First, I researched all the important safety features the car had.

I myself use it almost all of the time but I never noticed it. At one of my jobs I use rhetoric most of the time. One of my jobs is the Memphis Music Hall of Fame (Hof). Since the Hof is connected to Lansky’s Clothing shop, the clothier to the king, and Hard Rock Café, many people just walk by the Hof and it is my job to persuade them to want to visit the museum. The one question I get asked the most is, “Why should I spend my money to see this museum?” and I have to use rhetoric in my answer. With it being a fairly new museum, many people are not as willing to visit it. This makes it more challenging for me and gives me the opportunity to sharpen my rhetorical skills. Not only do I see rhetoric being used at my job, but I also see it at many other places I go as

Socrates overall views rhetoric as a form of flattery. It is not something that you can learn to do or use knowledge to get better at. It’s something you just know to do from mere experience rather than expertise. In a more defined sense, flattery is being good at creating your desired effect by bringing people pleasure. If you can make people feel good about themselves than you have power and can manipulate people.

Rhetoric’s is not just about being educated or well versed in the topics of what it is that you are arguing, it is also about the audience you lecturing too. Socrates, (Gorgias, pg59) Rhetoric is instead really a talent for persuading people not by arguing from knowledge or truth but by telling them what they want to hear. Good examples of the misuse of rhetoric’s would be a politician, or a doctor. A good example of someone miss using rhetoric’s would be a politician running for President. The candidate will miss use rhetoric’s on purpose, even though he might be well educated and or a subject matter expert on the topic, he (the politician) will use rhetoric’s to manipulate the crowd he is addressing, instead of telling them where he may stand on the subject, the candidate will tell them what it is he thinks it is that they want to hear just t get on their good side to help himself win the office. Again there is both good and bad in teaching rhetoric’s it is all how people use

Rhetoric, as a form of communication arouses questions both in the traditional and modern societies. The questions are repetitive in communication and aids in understanding its nature. According to Socrates, rhetoric is meant to seduce the mind, and it is practiced in courts in form of debate and even privately i houses. Socrates exhibits his art of rhetoric in his play of Phaedrus. According to Socrates, oratory is the art of deception the soul, and therefore any person who would be an orator or a philosopher learn the differences of human souls.

Rhetoric is a form of persuasive communication. It's a way to inform an audience of knowledge and doesn't necessarily have to come from an expert source. Rhetoric is often used to persuade individuals to believe that a speaker's knowledge is credible. In Gorgias, Socrates is a self-righteous individual who has always questioned everything. Its meant for him and others to distinguish pure knowledge from ignorance itself. Gorgias, on the other hand, is a naive individual and claims he has the ability to answer any given question he has come across. Throughout the story, Socrates uses his knowledge of Rhetoric to prove how Gorgias lacks his experience and knowledge. He often appeals to the crowd to help convey his point of view. With Socrates being the person he is, it shows to the audience that he has the strong belief in his own actions and knows when others are either right or wrong. The crowd watching the debate is important because, in the end, they're going to support the individual with the better argument. Having a connection with the audience does provide Socrates with enough leverage to seem superior to Gorgias. Socrates appeal to the crowd helps him gain an advantage in the debate because unlike Gorgias, Socrates uses his knowledge of philosophy and rhetoric to control the speech.

3) Plato’s view on the Rhetoric in Gorgias is completely different than Phaedrus view on rhetoric. In Gorgias, Plato emphasis the use of rhetoric as flattery that only lacks merit in scientifically sense. As stated with the readings, Plato warns “when the rhetorician Is more persuasive that the physician, the ignorant is more persuasive with the ignorant that he who has knowledge—is not the inference.” (Plato, 48). This implies that rhetoric creates this distortion that allows others to distort what is fake into something that is real through rhetoric. Plato was very fearful of the use of language in a destructive way because of his overall faulty it may lead and the Sophists discuss how rhetoric can be deceptive in its means. In contrast, Phaedrus approaches rhetoric in an entirely different view focusing on the ways in which rhetoric is a craft and used as a tool of self-expression.

Aristotle's method of rhetoric is used on a on a day-to-day basis. As a matter of fact, let's examine the rhetoric, low level rhetoric. The anti-drugs and smoking campaign are an exemplification of low level rhetoric. If someone grew up in America most likely you have seen these four letters D.A.R.E. That is the acronym for Drug Abuse Resistance Education a part of the program was getting kids not to do drugs. The reasoning behind the campaigns are obvious "Don't do drugs or else you'll end up like this," or "Don't smoke of else you'll get cancer, dead because of it." In other words the main goal is to get the audience to think and provide them with knowledge(cognizance) about drug usage and abuse. Many of the posters or commercials use scare