Rhetorical Analysis Of Socrates 's ' Gorgias '

Rhetoric is a way of persuasive wring or speaking, including the use of figures of speech and other writing techniques. An example of a speech that includes Rhetoric would be “The American Crisis Number 1” by Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine was born on January 29th, 1737 in England. Thomas Paine’s writings were very passionate and inspiring, but they also reflected his life. In the speech “The American Crisis Number 1” by Thomas Paine a strong message is delivered to American soldiers through his use of alliteration, personification and antithesis.

Rhetoric seems like a big word but the meaning is simple- persuasion. In the book Julius Caesar, Antony and Brutus, two major characters, are fantastic at persuading the Roman citizens. When one is reading the story, they might think that both have equal amounts but when you look closer, Antony has the better rhetoric strategies. In just a few short sentences, Antony convinced the people to believe that Caesar needed revenge even though he never came out and told them that. Just a couple of minutes ago, the citizens were on Brutus’s side and thought that Caesar needed to go.

Rhetoric is a significant part of our everyday lives. Whether it's convincing our friends to go to a concert on the weekend, to go to a certain place for lunch, or even convincing yourself to do something that you should but don't want to do. Rhetoric is all around us today. Billboard ads, television commercials, newspaper ads, political speeches, even news stories all try, to some degree, to sway our opinion or convince us to take some sort of action. If you take a step back to look and think about it, rhetoric, in all actuality, shapes our lives. Every day we have an array of options of things to do or things to buy. So every day, our opinion or actions are being influenced, however minutely, by rhetoric.

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.

Rhetoric is an art of communication that aims at enhancing the capability of writers or speakers who endeavor to persuade, inform or inspire distinct audiences in exceptional scenarios. As a discipline of recognized teaching and a prolific civic application, rhetoric has played a fundamental role in the Western convention. Rhetoric is acknowledged best from the description of Aristotle who regards it as a compliment of both politics and logic, and terms it as the ability to make an observation in any given instance from the accessible means of influence. Unlike other Aristotle works that have been around for ages,

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.

Before starting this class, I never understood what rhetoric was or how it affected me in my everyday life. Over the past week, I have started to grasp the concept of exactly what is rhetoric and I have made my own definition for it. To me rhetoric is the act of persuading a person or a group of people in something or to do something. When I first thought about rhetoric I immediately began to think about politicians and the upcoming elections. Politicians use rhetoric all the time especially when they are out doing campaign rallies in hopes of trying to gain votes. They have to use rhetoric in order to persuade voters to believe in them and want them as their senator, congressman, mayor, and etc. Besides politicians and political world, I could not think of other ways rhetoric affected me in my life at all until I began to think about people in the workplace.

Rhetoric is a course in which students are taught the values of persuasion. And yet, behind this course is the utmost power to corrupt the world, changing it into a world of our own policies. This power, even though seldom discussed, has lead to many intriguing discoveries. One such discovery is how people are able to shape the world they live in simply by choosing the right words. Therefore those who would want the world to be a better place must protect this power. If in the wrong hands this power could cause serious damage. Several authors have striven to protect rhetoric and its power. Few agree on the matter of defining rhetoric, but they know that they must protect rhetoric from dark souls. A single definition of rhetoric must maintain a simplistic nature while incorporating every aspect of rhetoric. However, I argue that rhetoric is a means of persuading audiences of a situation and a particular reality through language and personal appeal. In order to prove this definition I will discuss how rhetoric creates a situation, the shaping of a different reality, the audience, the use of language, and the personal appeal. Finally, I will demonstrate the absolute need for rhetoric.

Rhetoric- although it may seem to be a word of specific meanings and scholarly uses, the true interpretation can have a vast range of purpose and understanding. Though things as simple as talking to your teacher, watching television, or choosing what outfit to wear in the morning all involve rhetoric, most people believe rhetoric can only be found in the world of politics. Despite government being a prime illustration of rhetoric, it can be go far beyond the deliberations of politicians. An Overview of Rhetoric analyzes various scholarly definitions by explaining, “...rhetoric is simply part of who we are as human beings: Every time we express emotions and thoughts to others with the goal of influence, we are engaged in rhetoric” (6). Keeping this idea in mind, I believe rhetoric is more strictly defined as conversation of persuasive actions that do little to advance a factual concept or idea, but is still valuable in sharing thoughts and viewpoints to incline another. Thus, I view rhetoric as a practice that could possibly result in negative action, but still holds value when attempting to influence the viewpoints of others.

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 technique that is defined as speaking or writing effectively and often persuasively. Rhetoric is something that is constantly used and something that I am exposed to each day, often without realization. As of last week, I have applied rhetoric to my life several different times. I texted my friends, wrote notes for my biology class, composed e-mails to teacher, tweeted to friends, promoted clubs/organizations, and wrote college application essays. These forms of writing were each very distinct from one another, specifically the texts, composed emails, and college application essays. Just as each of the forms of writing were distinct, the rhetorical situations of each writing form were as equally distinct, so it was necessary to consider each rhetorical situation.

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.

Suppose I was a professor preparing to teach a class the concept of rhetoric, an innovation historically debated by philosophers such as Gorgias and Plato. But what is rhetoric? And how is it used? Rhetoric is used by Gorgias as an art of persuasion, whereas Plato criticizes it as mere “flattery” used only for personal gain. In a way, both philosophers are right, for certain situations, Plato describes rhetoric as only being ethical if philosophy is applied,

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.

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.