Even though Plato and Aristotle made some helpful contributions to my understanding of rhetoric, I find Gorgias and the sophists to fit best with my underlining understanding of rhetoric. The sophists’ perspectives on rhetoric is more relevant in modern day context considering that we experience language through persuasion daily. To sophists, rhetoric is a study of oratory strategies of persuasion and its effects on language. The sophists focus on the idea that truths are subjective implying that truth varies depending on perspectives especially in cultural and political contexts. “Because the exploration of opposing views has to be conducted through language, which is fraught with emotion and cultural baggage, it can never be ‘objective’ in the modern sense” (Sophist Intro, 23).
Furthermore, Plato and Aristotle both had interesting theories, but their ideas seemed more restrictive. Aristotle’s theory was very structured and concrete, but similar to Plato, he firmly believed in transcendent truth rather than the subjectivity of truth. Respectively, it appears that Plato created a theory then found supporting evidence, unlike the sophists and Aristotle who observed the world then formed theories.
No comments:
Post a Comment