Gorgias By Socrates Rhetoric Essay

In “Re-Composing Space: Composition’s Rhetorical Geography,” Roberta Brinkley and Marissa Smith expose the how valid modern day rhetoric is by analyzing the work of professionals who specialize in the following: history, English, and human behavior. According to the authors, in ancient Greece only educated, white, non-slave, men were the only group whose opinion was considered; anyone’s opinion who did not meet that criteria did not matter. Brinkley and Smith believe that there are a lot of ideas that may have been missed due to this notion and also rings to question the credibility and the morals of the ancient Grecians. In order to convince students of rhetoric who have been taught their entire life the ‘correct’ way to make a valid argument

Another way rhetoric is defined is by George Kennedy as “The energy inherent in emotion and thought, transmitted through a system of signs, including language, to others to influence their decisions or actions.” (pg. 125) Plato’s dialogue Gorgias has one of the earliest and most influential discussions of rhetoric. He became involved in a debate that was on going and he said rhetoric was “foul and “ugly”.

Rhetoric is the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing. In “A Speech in the Virginia Convention,” Patrick Henry tries to convince his fellow colonists to fight with Great Britain. Through his speech, he claims that the colonists shouldn’t be controlled by the Great Britain. According to Patrick Henry, the colonist need to fight back against Great Britain for their freedom. Patrick Henry uses appeals and rhetorical techniques to convince his fellow colonists to go to war with Great Britain.

Rhetoric is the building block of all things said, written, or conveyed, people use it every day – look at any piece of written text whether it be from the last century or the modern day, you’ll find rhetoric featured in at least in one way, shape, or form. To properly understand this, it is useful to look back on popular pieces of media or speeches, for example, the legendary “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”, a speech given by Patrick Henry on March 23rd, 1775 to form a volunteer cavalry to fight in the revolutionary war, which was effective in completing that task. Patrick Henry made his speech so effective through the use of his formal diction, ethics questioning pathos, and his use of ethos to express the exigency of forming the cavalry

Not only was the 2016 Presidential election full of controversy, it was also bursting with multiple forms of rhetoric. Rhetoric was best defined by the 300 B.C. philosopher Aristotle, who stated that rhetoric is “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” (Rapp, 2010) This definition has lasted through the centuries; to this day it is still one of the prominent definitions of rhetoric in America. President Donald J Trump and, runner up, Hilary Clinton both used rhetoric throughout their campaign very effectively.

I do agree with Socrates that rhetoric is mostly misused and dangerous for both the speaker and the listener. I believe rhetoric is dangerous for the speaker because that person maybe don’t understand how much power they hold over someone. It can be dangerous for the listener for the simply fact is the information they’ve been give may or may not be correct. I think past experience motivated Socrates feel this way about the usage of rhetoric. One example that Socrates proves that rhetoric is being misused is his example of the physician and I agree because this happens now in the world.

Socrates contradicts Gorgias when he says “Communities shouldn’t hold trainers responsible and banish them for what a boxer does with his boxing” (Socrates 22). So Socrates questions how they would be immoral if they were taught to be moral. He uses logos to win his argument against Gorgias by having him admit to Socrates being right. Gorgias thinks a teacher cannot be accountable but then admits people who are taught morality don’t necessarily have to be moral. When a rhetorician abuses the power of rhetoric, his teacher should not be blamed because he teaches the knowledge to be used correctly.

In the Introduction, Jay Heinrichs provides the reader with a foundation about the upcoming concepts on rhetoric, persuasion, seduction, and argument used in our everyday lives and in writing. Throughout this section, he discusses rhetoric that he encounters throughout life and without rhetoric it is merely impossible. He tries to go through a non rhetorical day, but it turns “out to be pretty darn rhetorical, but nonetheless agreeable” (11). Rhetoric prevents fighting, because without an agreement, people use fighting as a way of arguing. So, although people may see rhetoric as manipulation and/or seduction, it provides an agreement, within an otherwise violent, aggravating argument.

Gorgias was a famous sophist. A sophist is a class of professional teachers in ancient Greece who gave instruction in various fields, as in general instruction in various fields, as in general culture rhetoric, politics, or disputation. Sophist saw all language as persuasive intent. Gorgias believed that that truth can be created by rhetoric such as poetry. Gorgias thought that a good orator can speak on any topic and persuade the audience with the power of speech.

In Aristotle’s Rhetoric, Aristotle explains that “Persuasion… should be achieved by what the speaker says, not by what people think of his character before he begins to speak” (Supplement,

Here is another piece of evidence to support my point. “Because I’m well aware that wherever I go, the young people will listen to what I say, as they do here. If I antagonize them, they’ll drive me out by persuading their elders to do so.” (Lines 142-144) In this quote, Socrates is saying that even if he approaches the young ones with his ideas and philosophies, at a certain point they will come to a dislike of him and try anything at any cost to drive him away.

Rhetoric is an incredibly powerful tool capable of seducing even the most obdurate of people. As one of the most illustrious playwrights ever, Shakespeare was no stranger to the power of rhetoric. Rhetoric served as the fountainhead of Shakespearian allure. We watch the dramatic works of Shakespeare because we enjoy having our emotions manipulated; we enjoy the catharsis and self-reflection that accompanies a trip to the theater. Shakespeare truly was a master manipulator, but his manipulation was generally beneficial.

The Gorgias dialogue begins with Socrates asking if a discussion with Gorgias would be possible. Socrates makes it clear from the beginning of the dialogue that he would prefer no long display speeches to be made if Gorgias is going to participate in discussion, but asks specifically for only short answers to be given to the questions he asks. James Nichols, translator of the two dialogues argues in his Gorgias essay that “the brevity of the answers about what rhetoric is causes the first definitions to be too broad or universal or inclusive; the definition is narrowed down through Socrates' questioning and, in that sense, under his guidance.” Using this method allows Socrates to arrive at the conclusions necessary to convince Gorgias of what rhetoric is and to understand what he is

Rhetoric is a way of speaking in a persuasive way to create an impact on the audience or have them think the same way as the speaker. The three main strategies of rhetoric speech is ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos meaning the speaker is dwelling upon themselves, pathos meaning the speaker is using imagination to create emotion, and logos meaning facts and logic is used by the speaker to persuade the audience. Socrates used logos in a way that helped him exhibit an effective speech to prove which type of knowledge is worth knowing. In spite of this claim, Socrates was truly only showing the court that he really did not know much more than his name.

Students use logic instead of formulas or dates to answer questions. Rhetoric is more about learning skills to critically assess situations rather than facts. Students can practice their ability to analyze things thoroughly when they are introduced to rhetoric. They can learn to question ideas and arguments. “Are acai berries really the next weight loss miracle?