Plato's Rhetorical Analysis

To appease Zeus was thus to maintain favor, fortune and prominence: To oppose him or otherwise displease him was, essentially, unthinkable…or illogical. Therefore, an appeasement of the gods was as necessary as the air to breath. However, Aristotle would present logical arguments which would demonstrate a need for those within Greece (and the ancient world) to rely more upon logic than myth, as logos was the more prominent ‘trait’ to abide by when all the layers were stripped away. One such argument, modus

Philosophical thinking uses three acts of the mind: understanding, judgement, and reason. In order to have a sound argument all of the concepts must be applied. Socrates didn’t want to please the people by saying or doing what they wanted him to say or do. Socrates thought it was not important to seek wealth or fame; he was concerned with truth and virtue. He wanted to create an impact on humanity by relying on the truth and shining a light in people’s lives, even if they put him on trial.

“The Republic” is a book written by Plato in 380B.C. and was considered one of the most important works of political theory. Plato was born in 428 B.C., he founded the Academy in Athens where he gave higher learning for people. He believed that the Academy would produce future leaders who could help his country become a luxurious and just. His idea was that a just city is a city where every part of it does its own work without interfering in others work (principle of specialization).

He condemns societal democracy due to its foremost features such as freedom and equality. Although freedom is of utmost value to Plato, he is of the faith that freedom concocted with such a form of governance may run the risk of chaotic mobocracy. The Republic also credits only certain

Socrates does not make sound arguments because although his premises are logical, they sometimes have nothing to do with the original argument. In Plato’s Euthyphro, the Euthyphro dilemma argument states whether the Gods love the pious because it is pious or it is pious because the Gods love it. In order to support this distinction, Socrates’ first premise in supporting this conclusion is the example of being carried. Socrates claims that there is a difference between something that is already in the state of being carried because it is carried or if something is carried because it is in the state of being carried. Similarly, there is a difference between something being in the state of being loved because it is loved and something being loved

To sophist the main “function of language” is “persuasion” (p. 24). This third defense is that by the strength and power of rhetoric as a force, Helen was persuaded to leave by Alexander’s forceful speech. Evidence is offered of such time where the power of speech was so compelling that it was taken as truth. It is easier for man to believe the things said” than to access the absolute truth, which the Sophists believed was inaccessible to man (Plato, p. 95). Thus Gorgias insists that if Helen fell victim to speech, she is not to blame.

Considering how the Piraeus, Athens’ port area, contains individuals hailing from various locations, it would that such a place would be where Socrates encounters different definitions of justice. In Book One of Plato’s The Republic, Socrates challenges Cephalus’ belief that justice is simply being honest and paying back the dues that one owes to the gods and to his fellow men. By providing examples of where it would be unjust to repay one’s debts, Socrates refutes Cephalus’ definition of justice. In these scenarios, paying back those debts would pose a risk of harm to innocent people, which would be unjust since justice does not involve harming others. Since Cephalus is a religious patriarch, his idea of justice results from his fear of what

In Book 1 of Plato 's Republic, Socrates and Thrasymachus engage in a passionate, and often acrimonious, conversation regarding the relationship between a ruler and those he or she rules. Their conversation raises substantive questions about both the nature and purpose of government and the motivations and roles of those who govern. The following will address these questions by 1) explaining both Socrates ' and Thrasymachus ' understandings of the ruler-ruled relationship and 2) addressing the merits of each argument and offering my own philosophical position on the matter. First, with respect to Thrasymachus ' position, he believes that rulers craft laws for their "own advantage," and he considers justice to be the "advantage of the stronger"

Plato’s critique of Ovid is in the lack of reason and attention to the soul in his depiction of Eros. In Ovid’s writings, The Metamorphoses and The Amores, he focuses more on the body and the madness of love and Plato in The Symposium, focuses on the soul and reason in love. Plato’s overall critique is that of the popular love that Ovid depicts in his writings. The first critique that Plato makes of the love that Ovid describes is that it focuses almost exclusively on the love of the body rather than the love of the soul as is described in Plato. In the Symposium, Socrates has a conversation with Diotima about what love is, she talks about how “a lover who goes about his matter correctly must begin in his youth to devote himself to beautiful

And yet again, Socrates is able to react to this quote by causing Euthyphro to question his statement by replying, “And to give correctly is to give them what they need from [e] us, for it would not be skillful to bring gifts to anyone that are in no way needed.” (p.19). Through this reiteration of Euthyphro’s statement regarding gifting the gods, Socrates is able subtly hinting that a true, “good” entity should not require to be gifted from a being of a lower status and instead should help others as it is in their “good” nature. For God wants to help humans for the sake of working

Plato structured the argument through Socrates dialogue with an intent to demonstrate that religion requires more depth than simply accepting arbitrary beliefs. He was purposeful and successful in attempt to create two possible options, with the acceptance of either leading to troublesome