A comparison of Socrates' treatment of rhetoric in Plato's works, the "Gorgias" and "Phaedrus."
Written in 2007; 4,141 words; 10 sources; MLA; $ 111.95
Paper Summary:
This paper discusses Plato's works, "Gorgias" and "Phaedrus." The paper looks for a development in Plato's ideas and specifically focuses on Socrates' treatment of rhetoric. It considers various critical viewpoints concerning Plato's treatment of Isocrates in the conclusion of the "Phaedrus" and then develops an argument which references this treatment when explaining what appear to be inconsistencies between the two texts. The paper contains an annotated bibliography.
Table of Contents:
Public Sparring
The Trial
Lysias and Isocrates
Conclusion
From the Paper:
"I agree with both McAdon and Howland's analysis that Plato is still denouncing rhetoric, and therefore specifically challenging Isocrates. However, the stylistic changes Plato makes have veiled this denunciation behind superficial compliments and the guise of supposed reform. It is likely that, given the legal difficulties Riley has posited, Plato was unable to speak as freely as he would have liked. His new school was a compromise in which he found himself forced to compete directly with rival schools. To entice students, he appears to engage rhetoric. However, he has not really given up his own methods; nor does he consider Isocrates the "tincture of hope" (319) that Goggin and Long suggest. Instead, Plato remains firmly rooted in his own dialectic, while bitterly compromising certain stylistic aspects in order to protect himself. Plato was forced to subvert his real sentiments in order to avoid additional lawsuits. This would account for the apparent changes from the Gorgias to the Phaedrus, and also explains why scholars have traditionally had trouble interpreting the Phaedrus."
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