Reflective Blog Post: #1

I consider the theorists and approaches to rhetoric from Gorgias and the Sophists as pre-Socratic, and the the theorists and approaches to rhetoric from Plato and Aristotle as post-Socratic. It is quite fascinating to observe and analyze the progression of thought from the Sophists to Aristotle, mainly in terms of their understanding of the truth and how to find it. Sophistic ideology, at limited extents, is vital to understanding the subjective perceptions of truth and that truth varies so widely depending on the situation or context. However, the idea that there does not exist and there is no way to identify absolute truth is simply inaccurate. That aspect of Sophistic ideology reaches much too far ahead of the stable accuracy of logic, rationality, and critical thought.

Thus we have Socrates, and in his pursuit of truth, the Socratic method. By and through the avenues of rationality, logic, and critical thought, Socrates' method for reaching truth focuses on argumentative discourse among individuals aiming toward a compromise or agreement.  To stimulate such ideas and conclusions, a litany of questions drive discussions and the evolution thereof. It is out of Socrates' devotion to finding truth, and his unending queries, that Plato and Aristotle are able to become who they are.

Idealism versus empiricism is a fine distinction between Plato and Aristotle, respectively. Plato significantly opposes placing trust in human senses, and believes that the truths fo the world are exact and humanity is to reach them through thought. Through his skepticism of the senses, and by extension real world observation, he moves to rely on ideological rules and abstractions; rules and abstractions that are selectively found and fitted to support his thoughts. Much better than this, at significantly higher levels of accuracy, Aristotle seeks to observe the world as unbiasedly and directly as possible -- using human senses to supplement thought. Aristotle looks to collect empirical evidence and form theories and ideologies to explain his observations. Aristotle's method is, in common-sensical fashion, the truest way to gather a rounded understanding of truth in any given context.