The Rhetoric of Morality and Philosophy: Plato's Gorgias and Phaedrus

by Seth Benardete

The Rhetoric of Morality and Philosophy , one of the most groundbreaking works of twentieth-century Platonic studies, is now back in print for a new generation of students and scholars to discover. In this volume, distinguished classicist Seth Benardete interprets and pairs two important Platonic dialogues, the Gorgias and the Phaedrus , illuminating Socrates’ notion of rhetoric and Plato’s conception of morality and eros in the human soul.             Following his discussion of the Gorgias as a dialogue about the rhetoric of morality, Benardete turns to the Phaedrus as a discourse about genuine rhetoric, namely the science of eros, or true philosophy. This novel interpretation addresses numerous issues in Plato the relation between the structure of the Gorgias and the image of soul/city in the Republic , the relation between the structure of Phaedrus and the concept of eros, and Socrates’ notion of ignorance, among others.

Genres: Philosophy

216 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Seth Benardete was an American classicist and philosopher, long a member of the faculties of New York University and The New School. In addition to teaching positions at Harvard, Brandeis, St. John's College, Annapolis and NYU, Benardete was a fellow for the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Stiftung in Munich.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lotsa luck to the about three member audience still out there for SB

[Ashton Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another expansive read on the morality behind love. Dives into deep thought about why we love and why we don’t.

[Hasan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leave it up to Plato to overcomplicate the ever living fuck out of the most basic concept ever, that is, persuasion. This guy would have HATED car dealerships.

Now I’m not gonna sit here and say I agree with his conditions for “good rhetoric” because it’s outdated and kinda outrageous. Entire judicial systems we’ve come to trust for centuries would collapse if we followed it. I’m honestly not sure if Plato ever saw his approach to rhetoric as a pragmatic one, maybe that’ll get filled out when I approach The Republic.

But, what I will say, is that his moral psychology for rhetoric being judged by the good it can actually do for its audience is at least admirable. Too easily is contemporary society easily swayed by those who can exploit rhetorical practices in oratory rather than the substantive content and what it implies for its audience.

8/10. Might change after I finish his other works and see how it fits into the grander scheme.