Rhetoric is the art of persuasion through the use of compelling writing or speaking. In Plato’s “Gorgias”, famed philosopher Socrates argues the truth and how rhetoric can influence a conversation. He claims that rhetoric is a false knowledge; knowledge that is detracted from reality. False knowledge that is only to be used to manipulate people. However, Gorgias, a rhetorician, argues that rhetoric should be used to effectively control people through speaking only. Throughout the debate, Socrates seizes his knowledge of rhetoric and uses it against Gorgias. His understanding of rhetorical appeals and devices allows him to conspire a plan to trap Gorgias in his own contradictions. Through the use of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos, Socrates adequately …show more content…
The passage shows how Socrates is able to definitively appeal to the audience while he’s talking to Gorgias. He undermines Gorgias claims of rhetoric and uses them against him, showing how easily it is to influence people in general. Unknowingly to Gorgias, he was already trapped in his own convictions. Socrates sees the crowd can be used as tool to against Gorgias .Using ethos, Socrates successfully appeals to the audience trapping Gorgias using a mode of rhetoric. In the debate, Socrate uses another mode of rhetoric, logos, the ability to logically appeal to an audience. While pursuing the truth of rhetoric, Socrate also disparages Gorgias use of rhetoric. While questioning Gorgias, Socrates invokes a logical appeal towards the audiences. Shunning Gorgias and his knowledge of rhetoric, he is able to logically trap Gorgias through the use a logical questioning: Socrates: Now, isn’t a person who’s come under stand building a builder? Gorgias: Yes. Socrates: And a person who’s come to understand medicine is a doctor, and so on and so forth. By the same token, anyone who has come to understand a given subject is described in accordance with the particular character his branch of knowledge confers. Do you …show more content…
In the dialogue, Socrates pulls Gorgias in using an emotional appeal. Socrates said “ I thought you were being inconsistent and so I said what I said about how our discussion would be if you were like me and saw proof of being proved wrong, but other we should just forget it…” (Plato 22). Through this quote, Socrates is able to attract Gorgias using a emotional appeal. He mentions how Gorgias is already showing inconsistencies within the argument. This allows Socrates to bring an emotional response within Gorgias because he would have to defend himself in front of the crowd. Appealing to his emotions using the crowd, Socrates drags Gorgias beneath his own emotions. Using his emotions Socrates appeals to the crowd, displaying his knowledge of rhetoric and how easily it is to influence others. He proves how Gorgias is unable to define rhetoric while Socrates uses rhetoric against him to win the
Both Frederick Douglass and Socrates prioritize the True over their reputations. Willing to admit his weaknesses, Douglass’s main goal is to seek the True even if it means leaving his reputation undefended. He begins his speech by having a “distrust of [his] ability” and claims that when it comes to public speaking, he has “little experience” (Douglass). Douglass admits that topics concerning American history should be discussed with people who were educated through the school system instead of with a slave who has no educational background. He ultimately establishes trust with his audience by pursuing the True over maintaining his reputation.
Another way rhetoric is defined is by George Kennedy as “The energy inherent in emotion and thought, transmitted through a system of signs, including language, to others to influence their decisions or actions.” (pg. 125) Plato’s dialogue Gorgias has one of the earliest and most influential discussions of rhetoric. He became involved in a debate that was on going and he said rhetoric was “foul and “ugly”.
It was said that listening to Gorgias speak “aroused not only intense sensual pleasure,” but also allowed the audience to connect to the spoken wisdom in a way they had not before (p. 42). It was with his mastery of the spoken word and his particular encomium that the sophistic view of rhetoric was able to advance. One of Gorgias’ most distinguished words is The Encomium of Helen. Within this piece the self-proclaimed master rhetor offers several justifications for excusing Helen of Troy’s adultery.
Luis Arredondo Professor Kinkead Composition I 11 September 2016 Aristotle Summary Aristotle Rhetoric Book I takes a look into the social implications of rhetoric, while describing attributes of rhetoric. Aristotle clarifies the difference between dialectic and rhetoric, dialect having overall implications of the message and rhetoric having particular set of goals. The main goal of Rhetoric is to persuade the audience on a large scale. Ethos, logos, and pathos are necessary for persuading the audience due to ethos establishing credibility for the speaker, logos giving the speech a logical approach, pathos giving the audience an emotional perspective.
I do agree with Socrates that rhetoric is mostly misused and dangerous for both the speaker and the listener. I believe rhetoric is dangerous for the speaker because that person maybe don’t understand how much power they hold over someone. It can be dangerous for the listener for the simply fact is the information they’ve been give may or may not be correct. I think past experience motivated Socrates feel this way about the usage of rhetoric. One example that Socrates proves that rhetoric is being misused is his example of the physician and I agree because this happens now in the world.
Due to Socrates accommodating his concerns with the crowd by capitalizing on their curiosity, which conserves the contemplation of the audience, thus establishes excitement towards their behalf. This puts Gorgias in a scrutiny, as he must now vigilantly respond in order to deter questioning, and pique by the viewers; more so probable attendees of his teachings. The factors leading to this discussion have led to further expressive tones of consensus among many participants engaged in the conversation. As demonstrated by Socrates exhibiting superlative measures of deciphering for he jumps into the meanings of concepts much more sharply than Gorgias does (As portrayed, he keeps Gorgias and everyone on their toes pondering what he recites). Gorgias, on the other hand, ensures his place into the consultation by presenting elegant acts of control and faith as he presents his case in a more robust
Plato differentiates rhetoric as flattery and discovery truth. Aristotle's view of rhetoric is through an equation of dialectic plus rhetoric equals to persuasion. Aristotle is characterized as superfluous through the way of present rhetoric. For an instant, in page 178 "Rhetoric is the counterpart of dialect". Although rhetoric can be a subject
In conclusion, Socrates eventually convinces Glaucon of his vision. Glaucon was flattered, and told manipulative ideas and concepts which ultimately won him over. Glaucon went from saying “unjust” to “most true” in a few paragraphs through said persuasion. Socrates heavily believed in the role philosophers had on the state and was determined to say anything for supporters, sounding like a modern presidential nominee.
In the tale Gorgias by Plato, Socrates debates with four colleagues on what is rhetoric. To be able to answer if rhetoric is based on nature or convention you must first ask the question, what is rhetoric? Rhetoric stated by Socrates is the skill of making speeches (448d). Gorgias states that rhetoricians have the power of persuasions (452e). Rhetoric is having the power to persuade people in changing their opinion threw the power of speeches.
Aristotle founded the idea that all the best arguments have three key parts: ethos, pathos and logos. Translated from latin, this means ethical, emotional and logical. In the play Antigone by Sophocles, the characters frequently make use of these tools when attempting to persuade another character to conform to their beliefs and thoughts. Antigone tries to get her sister, Ismene, to help her in a crime that she believes is just. Haimon attempts to lessen Antigone’s sentence by lecturing his father about what it means to be a good leader, and the Chorus is just trying to help out anyone they can with wise words from a third party opinion.
The Crazy Iliad In life a very good skill to have is to be able to persuade people because it can help out someone in the future of their life situations. This skill is also important when going into war, and persuading people to fight or agree on something someone believes is true. In the Iliad, Homer’s characters’ use persuasion against each other multiple times in the story. The characters in the Iliad mostly use ethos, pathos, and logos when persuading each other to understand what they believe is true.
Aristotle writes pages upon pages about Rhetoric & its proper uses throughout his three books. However, a majority of his arguments come down to his personal interpretation of what is considered appropriate in any argumentative situation. Specifically in Part 11 of his third book Rhetoric, he makes many errors in these interpretations. (1) First, Aristotle has made a habit of being redundant. For example, Aristotle first brings up the idea that similes are metaphors in Part 10 on page 17 when he says, “The simile, as has been said before, is a metaphor, differing from it only the way it is put, and just because it is longer it is less attractive.”
In the Apology Socrates defends himself against the charges brought against him by his prosecutor Meletus in two ways. In the first way Socrates describes his method and
Plato’s dialogues Gorgias and Phaedrus both consider the idea of rhetoric. Rhetoric being the art or skill of getting something from the masses or individuals, and often used in getting away with a crime. The type of rhetoric being argued about in the Gorgias dialogue is public rhetoric, what exactly rhetoric is, whether it is an art or not, and how it is best used so as to promote the highest good. In the Phaedrus dialogue private rhetoric is being discussed over the issue of love. This paper will examine how eros is central to both the Gorgias and Phaedrus dialogues.
The text exists in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three other debaters; Gorgias, Polus, and Callicles. Socrates questions the reality of rhetorician and whether its flaws can be exposed by the means of pure philosophy. In all, rhetorician is not ethically neutral art for Socrates, it is believed to be purely "instilling persuasion in the souls of an audience " (Plato, Gorgias 453a). Therefore, rhetorician does not inherent morality and only philosophy can guide it to be used for good principles. In particular, I was