Plato's view of rhetoric

Aesop’s Trumpeter, Aristotle’s Orator, and the Technical Communicator

“…He calls rhetoric the "worker of persuasion" and suggests that "orators pursue nothing else than persuasion" (Benoit 1991, 34). Likewise, he asserts that rhetoric alters how audiences perceive reality since it deals directly with absolute truth (Benoit 1991;Black 1958). …”

“…He also writes that since rhetoric often exists in the public sector, some orators use it for unjust ends. Because orators may use rhetoric to manipulate their audience members as many of the Sophists did, Plato disagrees with Isocrates and suggests that rhetoric does not relate to absolute truth (Benoit 1991;Black 1958;Corbett and Connors 1999;Poluska 1985). Consequently, although both Plato and Isocrates disapprove of the way the Sophists ignore truth as they employ rhetoric, neither Plato nor Isocrates defines truth in the same way (Benoit 1991;Black 1958;Corbett and Connors 1999).…”

Argumentativ überwunden, aber nicht überzeugt? : zur Wirksamkeit der sokratischen Elenktik in Platons Gorgias

“…Edmonds (2012) Stauffer (2006), der den Versuch unternommen hat, mit diesem Ansatz den gesamten Dialog einer Neuinterpretation zu unterziehen. Er greift darin ähnlich gelagerte Überlegungen von Nichols (1998), Kastely (1991) und Black (1958) auf. In die gleiche Richtung haben zuvor auch Renaud (2001) und Kauffman (1979) argumentiert.…”

The judicial dialogue

“…Plato chose dialectic as the path to truth, but in his Socratic dialogues he uses frequent rhetorical passages to make a point, and, of course, each dialogue was in truth a rhetorical monologue of Plato's in which he sought to win the audience to his way of thinking (Black, 1958;Thompson, 1969;Kauffman, 1979;Robinson, 1980;Rosen, 1983). ' Aristotle defined rhetoric and dialectic as counterparts, dealing with subjects of general knowledge, which all of us use as we discuss questions, maintain positions and defend ourselves from the attack of others.…”