“That is just what I suspected you meant, Gorgias. But don’t be surprised if a little later on I repeat this procedure and ask additional questions when the answer seems to be already clear. This, as I say, is not…
Monthly Archives: February 2010
The Art of Rhetoric
by lminnis209 • • 0 Comments
Gorgias tries to defend his ideas on what rhetoric stands for and tries to define the term to Socrates. Socrates allows Gorgias to hang himself with his definition of the term and Socrates pokes holes into Gorgias ideas. SOCRATES:…
Exhibit A: Irony.
by MaryAnn Macedo • • 0 Comments
In Plato’s “Gorgias,” the rhetorician Gorgias is answering questions freely about his profession, and the philosopher Socrates approaches with plenty of questions to ask, ones about what the art of rhetoric is, whether it is in fact an art, and…
Where’s My Toga?
by jgreene • • 0 Comments
Time to break out the white sheets and sling them over our shoulders to create togas. The only way to truly understand Greek philosophers like Plato and Isocrates is to become one of them…and even then it gets difficult. When…
Gorgias
by jocias • • 0 Comments
In Gorgias, Socrates concludes that rhetoric is the power of persuasion. By questioning Gorgias, it’s as though he reveals the truth about rhetoric by revealing that in itself it offers neither truth nor knowledge. When Gorgias states, “he should not…
The Responsibilities of Rhetoric
by Anne Engert • • 1 Comment
It would be easy to imagine that the conversations of ancient Greek philosophers, while certainly of historical interest, might have little relevancy to our lives today. Such an assumption would, however, be a mistake. As I read through the four…
Week 1 Read On
by Joel • • 1 Comment
All of the readings this week had me agreeing with them. I found myself on the side of Socrates and Isocrates without having much knowledge about their opponents. I looked at some of the techniques that allowed me to agree…
Taxing Oil for Education
by Kim De Vries • • 0 Comments
Today I’ve taken my first year composition class to hear a talk by state assemblyman Alberto Torrico about AB656, a bill that would create a tax on oil and gasoline produced in the state, to fund public education. Logical arguments…
Week 1 Commentary
by Alex Janney • • 0 Comments
A key component of any successful rhetoric is the ability to acknowledge the opponent. This is something I learned back in 8th grade when I had to give a Pro/Con speech. If you want to seem knowledgeable, be convincing, and…
Week 1: “This post will fill your mind with wonder! Read it, it will make you better” . . . Rhetoric: The art of persuasion, not of truth.
by kmontero • • 0 Comments
Now that I have grasped the reader’s attention through the employment of rhetoric, though I am no famous rhetorician like Gorgias , I will use the aforementioned attention to discuss Plato’s Gorgias. Having one-half of the class title (i.e. History of Rhetoric)…