Com 409 exam 1 Flashcards
what is direct democracy?
every citizen must go to assembly
what is the assembly?
thousands of individuals deciding on all issues- lawsuits, civil trials, criminal trials etc.
what is isonomia?
equality under the law
what is isegoria?
every athenian is allowed the right to give speech in assembly but that doesn’t mean it will be taken into consideration
T/F persuasion is required both in assembly deliberations and as part of athenian culture/ education?
true
what is the era following the pelopennesian war?
era of “greek philosophy”
who were the first teachers of rhetoric?
corax and tisias- speeches in defense of legal charges and speeches for assemblies
what is empedocles?
“the self conscious study of the power of languages.”
what does human understanding come through?
perception; not knowledge
why were the sophists accused by plato and isocrates?
sophists taught: an anti-aristocratic “agenda”, focused on doxa, and belief in “unstable truth”
who are important sophists?
gorgias, isocrates, protagoras
who is gorgias?
claimed to be able to speak on both sides of any issue , wrote Encomium of Helen- a “rhetorical exercise”
Who is isocrates?
middle ground betwn sophists and plato. Believes that rhetoric teaches both usefulness for the polis (community) and individual virtue
what is platos critique of gorgias?
political dangers of sophistical rhetoric. Questioning by the political legitimacy of the demos (the people)
what is the purpose of encomium of helen?
a defense of helen, seen as the cause of the trojan war; a theory of power of languages (logos); a rhetorical exercise; deploying a particular rhetorical style
What are the causes of encomium of helen?
the claims of fate and force (fate by the gods?) ; violence (she’s the victim, not the perpetrator) ; speech, logos as agent (works not by reason but by emotion)
doxa creates what in the encomium of helen?
slippery situations
Gorgias uses speech as a form of power by?
Gorgias= constrainor; logos constrains his audience. He believes he is so well at speeches that he can constrain his audience
what does speech do?
speech makes the unclear clear; speech makes the logical seem true to the crowd (persuasion); speech makes beliefs seem subject to question (philosophy)- makes people uncertain of what they believe
what is dissoi logoi?
opposing claims, alternating arguments
key terms in dissoi logoi?
context/timeliness/situation ; judgment is required when good and falsehood are intermingled
Dissoi Logoi on good and bad?
good and bad are different; good and bad are the same; good and bad are good for some, bad for others in time; we can only judge in the moment
Dissoi logi on just and unjust?
just and unjust are the same thing; it is just to tell lies and deceive ; lies can be used. Allows flexible thinking (poets, dramatists)
dissoi logoi on truth and falsehood?
truth and falsehood are the same; a statement is distinct from the truth; a circumstance: whom is speaking, where
T/F language has no absolute representation of truth
true
is wisdom impossible to teach?
there are no recognized teachers of wisdom; sophists aren’t always able to teach wisdom to students; we learn by doing, it is a process (cosmosis)
T/F knowing truth involves thinking opposites- both sides
true; knowing involves understanding how beliefs function through action
who is plato?
philosopher of ideas and the soul, always starts off with a “what is__?” ; human life desires “the good” which is achieved through knowledge and truth
T/F according to plato, appeals must rely on true knowledge
true
Plato’s Gorgias and its main issues?
dialogue between socrates, gorgias, and others. How to define rhetoric? (art or knack?) ; rhetorics sphere of activity? rhetorics connection to knowledge? ; political rhetoric a moral practice?
in platos gorgias, gorgias beleives rhetoric is:
concerned with political speech. its action and authority come through speech, it creates belief in the souls of its hearers.
who does rhetoric address?
the multitude, the ignorant crowd
Does gorgias claim to teach anyone the ability to persuade on matters of justice?
yes. But the rhetorician doesn’t necessarily know justice, but rather the appearance of it.
what does socrates believe rhetoric is?
rhetoric is a hapitude for pleasure (cookery, flattery); rhetoric is an “insubstantial part of politics” ; rhetoric perverts politics by diverting it through pleasure
T/F socrates opposes democratic rhetoric?
true. Rhetoric has no great use for him who has no intention of wrongdoing
what is callicles law vs. nature theory ?
Laws are meant to constrain the weak. Through laws, the weak terrorize the stronger and prevent them from getting one over on them. Justice by nature, the better rule the worse
Socrates response?
who actually is “the stronger”? Who is the wise? whats the advantage of wisdom. Every man is “his own ruler”
T/F Callicles believes “wise” and “manly” rulers should have more than the ruled (the demos)
true
T/F Socrates opposes hedonism: a theory of pure pleasure
true
platos socrates concludes…
politics should aim at justice, not pleasure; politics is about making citizens “as good as as possible”
platos critique of sophistical rhetoric is…
that is doesn’t teach us about the nature of the good. Rhetoric appeals through bodily pleasure, not justice or virtue
what is phaedrus
question of the soul- how are philosophy and rhetoric related to love and desire? good and bad forms of desire? 3 speeches between socrates and lysisas.
who should the favors be given to?
favors should be granted to the nonlover rather than to the lover.
nonlovers vs. lovers
nonlovers are not compelled; nonlovers deal not with present pleasure only but with future advantage, not being overcome by passion.
Lovers repent their kindness; lovers “judgment is obscured” by their passion- envy, jealousy, impassioned decisions;
what is socrates premise in phaedrus?
the lover is more distraught (mania) than the nonlover
love is what ?
a desire according to socrates
when doxa leads through reason it means what?
self-restraint
when desire drags us toward pleasures it means what?
excess
first definition of love?
that desire which overcomes the rational opinion and which is led away toward the enjoyment of personal beauty
Socrates believes he who is a slave to desire/pleasure will not what?
will not endure one better than he is; will not seek out a stronger love; will deprive his lover of family and property; will be different in and out of passion
T/F socrates stops his speech and recants
true
T/F Socrates redefines love by defending mania
true
whats socrates image of souls?
horses and charioter. white horse- temperate, moderate, guided by reason. black horse- friend of insolence and pride
for socrates souls by their nature are what?
are conflicted, & desire to be in contact with “divine things”
NEW definition of love:
“true beauty beyond society” he who loves the beautiful , partaking in this madness is called the lover
if rhetoric is to be an art…
one must know the true definitions of things and in all of their classes. an art of rhetoric works by perceiving and bringing together scattered particulars in order to clarify a definition
T/F rhetoric should “produce conviction of the soul”
true. it requires knowledge of the soul; requires classifying souls; requires definition, not probability; speak in a manner that is pleasing to the gods
whom does platos critique oppose?
the sophists: gorgias, lysisas, polls; the realist: callicles,, lysisas; the people: demos as the multitude
key terms for understanding platos conceptions of rhetoric?
knowledge, politics, self rule, love/desire
who is isocrates?
middle ground between plato and sophists. anti-systematic
what is against the sophists about?
critique of the sophists economic transaction (hypocritical); critique of teachers of the political speech who ignore the native ability in students; critique of sophists who ignore that rhetoric is a “creative process”
T/F according to isocrates, oratory is good only if it has fitness for the occasion, property of style and originality of treatment
true.
T/F Isocrates believes that training can fully fashion men without natural aptitude?
false.
who are “able orators and statesmen” according to isocrates?
they serve both knowledge and society
What are Isocrates’ goals of philosophy?
honest of character; rhetoric as philosophy combines attention to nature, education, context, morality.
