Plato on the Rhetoric of Philosophers and Sophists

by Marina McCoy

• ISBN13: 9780521175371
• ISBN10: 0521175372
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-03-03
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Marina McCoy explores Platos treatment of the rhetoric of philosophers and sophists through a thematic treatment of six different Platonic dialogues, including Apology, Protagoras, Gorgias, Republic, Sophist, and Phaedras. She argues that Plato presents the philosopher and the sophist as difficult to distinguish, insofar as both use rhetoric as part of their arguments. Plato does not present philosophy as rhetoric-free, but rather shows that rhetoric is an integral part of philosophy. However, the philosopher and the sophist are distinguished by the philosophers love of the forms as the ultimate objects of desire. It is this love of the forms that informs the philosophers rhetoric, which he uses to lead his partner to better understand his deepest desires. McCoys work is of interest to philosophers, classicists, and communications specialists alike in its careful yet comprehensive treatment of philosophy, sophistry, and rhetoric as portrayed through the drama of the dialogues.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
Elements of Gorgianic Rhetoric and the Forensic Genre in Plato's Apology	p. 23
The Rhetoric of Socratic Questioning in the Protagoras	p. 56
The Competition between Philosophy and Rhetoric in the Gorgias	p. 85
The Dialectical Development of the Philosopher and Sophist in the Republic	p. 111
Philosophers, Sophists, and Strangers in the Sophist	p. 138
Love and Rhetoric in Plato's Phaedrus	p. 167
Bibliography	p. 197
Index	p. 209
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