Plato
Plato, a great philosopher and rhetorician, was born in Athens in about 428 BC and grew up during the decades of conflict with Sparta and other city-states. His parents, Ariston and Perictione, were one of the most distinguished and aristocratic couples in the city. Apuleius informs us that Speusippus praid Plato's quickness of mind and modesty as a boy, and the "first fruits of his youth infud with hard work and love of study". Plato must have been instructed in grammar, music, and gymnastics by the most distinguished teachers of his time. Dicaearchus went so far as to say that Plato wrestled at the Isthmian games. Plato had also attended cours of philosophy; before meeting Socrates, he first became acquainted with Cratylus (a disciple of Heraclitus, a prominent pre-Socratic Greek philosopher) and the Heraclitean doctrines.According to Diogenes Laërtius, the philosopher was named Aristocles我的同学日记after his grandfather, but his 潜能发挥wrestling coach, Ariston of Argos, dubbed him "Platon", meaning "broad," on account of his robust figure. According to the sources mentioned by Diogenes (all dating from theAlexandrian period), Plato derived his name from the breadth of his eloquence, or el becau he was very wide across the fore
息女head. In the 21st century some scholars disputed Diogenes, and argued that the legend about his name being Aristocles originated in the Hellenistic age.
Almost nothing of the details of Plato's early life is known becau of his family's position. it is likely that he was acquainted with Socrates from childhood. Plato probably intended to go into politics, but the fate of meeting Socrates changed his mind. With the forced suicide of Socrates in 399, Plato and other followers took temporary refuge in Megara. Some early biographers say that he then traveled around the Mediterranean world, visiting other Greek city-states, Egypt, Italy, and Sicily. None of the reports can be confirmed except for a trip to Sicily. There he met and befriended Dion, brother-in-law of the ruler of Syracu, Dionysius I. Sometime after the death of Socrates, Plato decided to devote himlf to philosophy and teaching. He opened the Academy and remained with it as teacher, with two brief interruptions, until his death in about 348 BC.
To a large extent, his unique life experience contributes to the success of Plato. And what
is this great philosopher's attitude toward rhetoric? The answer may surpri all of us. He on the one hand denounced rhetoric and on the other hand loved it in cret. A lot of scholars hold the opinion that Plato's criticize toward rhetoric is just a fal impression, for the ideas that he held in esteem are complemented with rhetoric. He realized that the power of rhetoric can move people. I'd like to talk about what is rhetoric in Plato's eyes and additionally I will introduce you Plato's opinion on potery and rhetoric.
Plato maintained that rhetoric was the expression of truth and the art rational discour rather than the art of eloquent expression. He argued that clarity, consistency and naturalness were the only features necessary for the effective prentation of ideas. He asrted that genuine eloquence derived its force from truth and spontaneity. This, in part, was a reaction to the u of rhetorical artifice by the Sophists as a means of deceiving and manipulating people.
He famously outlined the differences between true and fal rhetoric in a number of dialogues; particularly the Gorgias and Phaedrus wherein Plato disputes the Sophistic no
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tion that the art of persuasion (the Sophists' art which he calls "rhetoric") can exist independent of the art of dialectic. He claims that since Sophists appeal only to what ems probable, they are not advancing their students and audiences, but simply flattering them with what they want to hear. While Plato's condemnation of rhetoric is clear in the Gorgias, in the Phaedrus he suggests the possibility of a true art wherein rhetoric is bad upon the knowledge produced by dialectic, and relies on a dialectically informed rhetoric to appeal to the main character: Phaedrus, to take up philosophy. Thus Plato's rhetoric is actually dialectic (or philosophy) "turned" toward tho who are not yet philosophers and are thus unready to pursue dialectic directly. Plato's animosity against rhetoric, and against the Sophists, derives not only from their inflated claims to teach virtue and their reliance on appearances, but from the fact that his teacher, Socrates, was ntenced to death for being a Sophist.
Particularly, I'd like to talk about Plato's discussions of rhetoric and poetry which are both extensive and influential. As in so many other cas, he ts the agenda for the subquent tradition. And yet understanding his remarks about each of the topics—rhe
toric and poetry—prents us with significant philosophical and interpretive challenges. Further, it is not initially clear why he links the two topics together so cloly (he suggests that poetry is a kind of rhetoric). Plato certainly thought that matters of the greatest importance hang in the balance, as is clear from the famous statement that “there is an old quarrel between philosophy and poetry” (Republic, 607b5-6). In his dialogues, both this quarrel and the related quarrel between philosophy and rhetoric amount to clashes between comprehensive world-views—tho of philosophy on the one hand, and of poetry or rhetoric on the other. What are the quarrels about? What does Plato mean by “poetry” and “rhetoric”? The purpo of this article is to analyze his discussions of rhetoric and poetry as they are prented in four dialogues: the Ion, the Republic, the Gorgias, and the 女生头像真实Phaedrus. Plato is (perhaps paradoxically) known for the poetic and rhetoric qualities of his own writings, a fact which will also be discusd in what follows.
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