Friendship and War: True Political Art as the Alliance of Philosophy and Rhetoric in Plato’s Gorgias

Abstract

The paper explores the relation between philosophy and rhetoric from a new perspective by highlighting the dramatic nature of the dialogue and paying attention not only to what is said about philosophy and rhetoric but also to what is shown, especially through Gorgias’ intervention throughout the dialogue in order to save a community of dialogue that inquires into the good and the just. This re-conception of the relation between philosophy and rhetoric implies a re-conception of the practice of politics itself, rooted in a philosophy concerned with turning individual souls toward the good and a rhetoric that motivates individuals to be turned in the same direction by the words of others.

Keywords

• Socrates
• Gorgias
• friendship
• political philosophy
• rhetoric