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Effective Use Of Rhetoric In Plato's Gorgias

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The initial scenario in Plato's Gorgias portrays Socrates with his friends, Chaerephon and Callicles, having a discussion concerning the status of Gorgias, a famous rhetorician. Socrates expresses his desire to question Gorgias concerning the scope and nature of rhetoric, so the scene then shifts to the home of Callicles, which is where Gorgias is staying. This section of Plato's text focuses on the relationship between philosophy and politics. As James H. Nichols points out, it is easy to deride the art of persuasion; it is nonetheless true that all people, in every era, must coordinate their activities with those of others in order to organize an efficient society in which it is possible to live well (Nichols, 1998). Gorgias basically asserts …show more content…
None of the replies that Gorgias offers to Socrates' questioning live up to his claim of being able to answer all questions. Not only that, but his replies are not consistent. Socrates amply demonstrates that skillful rhetoric requires no truth to support it. Skillful rhetoric presents the illusion of knowledge, rather than knowledge itself. In contrast, Plato's description of the dialogue that occurs between Socrates and Gorgias exemplifies the superiority of the Socratic method over rhetoric as a way to discern truth. While rhetoric is unilateral, focusing on persuasion, dialogue is flexible, adaptable and …show more content…
H. Nichols notes that while eros can be translated as "love," Plato also used this word in connection with words derived form the root phil-, which translates as "'love of wisdom.'" In the Phaedrus, Socrates criticizes rhetoric not on the grounds of politics or justice, but rather in its deficiencies in regards to art and science (Nichols, 1998). In doing so, Socrates does not overtly discuss the question of rhetoric's power, but rather he focuses on the manner in which the art of rhetoric can be developed more effectively (Nichols, 1998). In the process of presenting his own ideas pertaining to rhetoric, Socrates does not limit it to politics, but rather suggests the "universal art of psychagogia, the leading of souls" (Nichols, 1998, p.

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