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The Use Of Rhetoric Language In The Works Of Socrates

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Plato is a practical philosopher in Classical Greece. He was strongly influenced by Socrates, whose intellectual phenomenon made him an apparent figure in Athens. Unfortunately, Socrates was intensified by Aristophanes and harassed by the state. As a unique leader of the youth, Socrates represented to Plato the pattern of a righteous man. In Plato’s 30 dialogues, he uses the dialectic method which had been the characteristic approach of Socrates. Like Socrates, Plato is interested no so much in assuring a definite position as in the virtues of a clear and reasonable inquiry. He also emphasized ethics rather than science; knowledge is not separable from virtue, and the good is also true. Plato is against rhetoric language similarly used by politicians and craftsmen, which is evident in his dialogues Apologia, Phaedrus, and Sophists. …show more content…

Socrates was put on trial for corrupting the youth and adopting an atheistic attitude towards the gods of the city. In the beginning of the dialogue, Socrates expresses how he does not like people that speak rhetorically. “But I know that they almost made me forget who I was—so persuasively did they speak; and yet they have hardly uttered a word of truth.” (Kaplan 5) Socrates exploits that the persuasive men that are against him do not speak the truth and are so persuasive that it makes Socrates even forget what kind of man he was. The Athenians even tell the judge to not be fooled by his “force of eloquence”. However, Socrates speaks nothing but the truth. “But from me you shall hear the whole truth: not however, delivered after their manner in a set oration duly ornamented with words and phrases.” (Kaplan 5) Socrates is a straight forward and honest man. He tells his side of the story with honesty and sarcastically calls the other side “appropriate speech”. Plato’s Apologia clearly demonstrates how Socrates dislikes rhetoric people because they often do not tell the

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Later in his argument, he asks the jury to excuse his ordinary language and rather to “consecrate your attention on whether what I say is just or not, for the excellence of a judge lies in this, as that of a speaker lies in telling the truth” (Plato 18a). By demonstrating that he does not speak with eloquence or enticement, Socrates proves to speak with honesty and plainness, which shows that he considers truth a virtue. Here he also reveals why it is so important for both a speaker and a judge to focus on the truth; in a court, both are under an oath: the speaker to be honest, and the judge to be just based on the speaker’s actions. By asking the jury to ignore the eloquence of words he uses and focus on the truthfulness of what he is saying, Socrates shows that he is confident that the facts and correctness of his argument will lead the jury to see his innocence and the slander of his accuser’s claim. However, the jury do not seem to adhere to Socrates’ plea and gives its verdict of guilty, and Meletus asks for the death penalty.

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People are often averse to the truth. Plato wrote “The Apology” in order illuminate the hostility towards real truth because he believed he had an obligation to reveal how easily thought could be manipulated. Plato documents Socrates’s final address to the jury before he is due for execution. Socrates had been accused of using such embellished language throughout his explanations that he had caused a severe confusion to the people and then an eventual embarrassment; thus, allowing the people to reject what Socrates had been trying to preach. This creates a dismissal of Socrates’ ideas throughout the people and generates an even greater divide of thought.

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In the Apology by Plato, Socrates defends himself against his accusers in court, and begins by declaring that he is not an especially great speaker but that he only speaks the truth. In this, he tells his accusers that they should not fear him but only the truth itself. In the depiction of Socrates' last speech, he makes a bold claim that he has been deemed the wisest man in Athens by the god of Delphi ( Plato, ., Jowett, n.d. ). He goes on to explain that while he searched for those that thought themselves wise,

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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

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In Plato's Gorgias, it is apparent that Socrates has no desire to be a good statesman as it is defined in the eyes of the Athenians. His calculation is that Athenian rhetoricians place no reliance on facts or truth, nor are these their aim. Instead, they rely on the illusion of knowledge, and this morally weakens both themselves and their audiences. It is clear however, that if he wishes, Socrates is able to match most or all of the other statesmen in Athens, as is clearly indicated by his very eloquent speech which ends the dialogue. Additionally, under his own definition of a good statesman, it is evident that Socrates is more than qualified.

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In this play the Socrates here doesn't sound like the Socrates from the Apology or the real life Socrates. The real Socrates doesn't actually teach per say, he teaches in a way that makes you yourself use your brain. He makes you question everything and understand things based on your own perception. The writer of this play clearly felt as if Socrates was a major problem in his society for allowing people to actually try to think outside of the box and ask questions. He most likely enjoyed the fact that everyone were robots and all thought alike and believed in the same thing because it brought no need to bring out discussion.

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In The Apology by Plato, Socrates is being accused of three things; “he busies himself studying things in the sky and below the earth; he makes the worse into the stronger argument, and he teaches these same things to others” (19b). Socrates begins his defense immediately criticizing his accusers of being dishonest and speaking no truth in their case. He then begs for the jury’s forgiveness for not speaking the correct style of language, being unfamiliar with the type of dialogue used in a law court, since it is his first time at the age of seventy. He explains that this is not the first time accused, but that he has had to defend himself against lying accusations for years. He addresses that his reputation and wisdom all started because of

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After much discussion and questioning, Socrates finally comes to the conclusion that rhetoric is useless unless used to accuse yourself of

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Ava Pieraccini 3/6/23 Ms. Mcesson In the timeless novel To Kill a Mockingbird, we follow the main character Scout, a six-year-old girl in the 1960s as she ages and matures during the Great Depression. The constant theme of loss of innocence immerges throughout the book during events of prejudice that rock Scout, and her small town. Because of these events and guidance from her father and neighbors, Scout grows and becomes more aware of others’ perspectives… choosing her path even if it contradicts her community or her original beliefs.

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In the tale Gorgias by Plato, Socrates debates with four colleagues on what is rhetoric. To be able to answer if rhetoric is based on nature or convention you must first ask the question, what is rhetoric? Rhetoric stated by Socrates is the skill of making speeches (448d). Gorgias states that rhetoricians have the power of persuasions (452e). Rhetoric is having the power to persuade people in changing their opinion threw the power of speeches.

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Socrates was a man that was in search of the truth about wisdom. However, it became more then just a search when it brought him to trail of accusations. As a philosopher Socrates was known to overdrawn ideas and to frustrate anyone he was talking to. He is always in search of a better idea and for anyone who has experienced Socrates could assume he is making up his own actualities. This becomes evident in “ Apology” written by Plato, where Socrates was brought in charges for corrupting the minds of the youth and not believing in the Gods.

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740 Words | 3 Pages

Despite the title of this historical piece of work, this speech, made by Socrates at his trial, was anything but an apology. Plato, who wrote Apology, was a student of Socrates and this is his account of the trial. Even though he was present at the trial, the colloquy may have been adjusted by Plato to reflect what he thought Socrates should have said or what he thought Socrates meant to say. Plato was very fond of Socrates, therefore the way he may present him can be bias. Socrates attempted to persuade the men of Athens of his innocence by presenting himself as a good man and an authority of knowledge, as declared by the Delphic oracle.

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912 Words | 4 Pages

Making enemies and becoming the topic of conversation, the Athenians began to view Socrates as a threat to their beliefs and way of life and sought to end it. In order to end this, Socrates was accused of blasphemy (Mod1SlideC7). Socrates’s accusers took him to court and after Socrates did not play their game by asking to be sent into exile, and in the end, he was sentenced to death. After reading the textbook and Plato’s writing influenced by Socrates, I realized that in the period of his life Socrates was indeed truly a threat to the Athens society, because he looked for answers that no one else bothered to find which challenged their culture.

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Socrates sees himself as wiser than other men including the politicians, craftsmen, and poets because he did not go around thinking he knew what he did not know. As a result of this, his character reflected someone who saw himself as superior to others and instead of feeding that ego, he could have been a joined politics and have an influence on the Athenian democracy. If he had done this, people like Meletus and his later accusers would have taken his criticism in a positive way. Socrates has the right to criticize the democracy of Athens because, in his perspective, verdicts are passed in the court by jurors with respect to whoever seems good to him. The democracy of the people was biased because, even if a person was wrong in court, he would not receive the right punishment her deserved because of his relations with the jurors.

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Plato's “The Apology of Socrates” is a speech Socrates makes at the trial in which he is charged with not recognizing the gods recognized by the state, inventing new idols, and corrupting the youth of Athens. Socrates' speech, however, is by no means an "apology" in our modern understanding of the word; the name of the dialogue derives from the Greek "apologia," which translates as a defense, or a speech made in defense of the convicted. Thus, in this reading, Socrates attempts to defend himself and his conduct; certainly not to apologize for it. For the most part, Socrates speaks in a very plain, conversational manner towards all his charges that Meletus and Athens has filed against him.

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