The working of rhetoric has been analyzed by Plato in Phaedrus as the art of influence on the soul. In reality, there is a little misunderstanding when it comes to Plato’s philosophical project. According to Plato, rhetoric is an art of philosophy that helps in controlling the minds of the crowd or any kind of meeting such as congregation. The art is also used in disruption or attracting attention although it seems meaningless. Another art that was included in the list of Plato’s philosophical project was deceit that combined together with rhetoric formed Plato’s philosophical project.
Plato as a leader had to come up with his own concepts of ruling which made him apply various philosophical concepts so as to achieve what he wanted. The main philosophical concept used by Plato was rhetoric in relation to Phaedrus 261a-266.
Rhetoric is a philosophical art that is dealt with in various bodies such as law courts. In the law court, this art is used to achieve or come up with reality based on a given subject matter. There are numerous activities that happen in a real-life situation that tend to give a better explanation of rhetoric as a philosophical theory. According to Socrates, Rhetoric explains or gives the reason as to why one should give favors or privileges to a stranger more than to a friend. Socrates also believes that some of Plato’s philosophical concepts fall within Phaedrus’s point of reasoning and this, therefore, makes them very difficult to understand. Phaedrus’ philosophical perspective tends to be null according to many philosophers due to the fact it does not have enough support.
Although Plato falls in the Phaedrus bracket philosophically, there are certain points or concepts that are still unclear as no evidence has been presented so far to ascertain the validity (Huard, 133). Rhetoric is one of the key tools that can lead a group as this only creates empty images or imaginations that in turn lead to great thoughts. Plato as a person believed that false information can lead to true information hence rhetoric seems to be the best as it involves a deceit that is only aimed at creating some kind of psychological crash in the people’s minds (Huard, 133). Actually, rhetoric rule is to inflict impossibility into the people’s minds hence getting control over them.
Phaedrus is considered to have been overwhelmed with madness and failed to reason or match out things in a correct manner philosophically (Huard, 133). There are a number of aspects of philosophy that Plato also believes in or tends to explain in Phaedrus. The main philosophical concept of Plato revolves around the human life and control and this is the reason he gave explanation of the rhetoric.
The normal lifespan of human being is not just enough to be able to do or achieve all the things a person would like to. Such things include learning or acquiring all the incredible knowledge that the world offers. Some people may experience a full range of human activities and even try to create some things that a person knows that he or she is capable of doing. As much as many individuals have eventually come to embrace the fact that death is inevitable, most of them would actually wish to live much longer and do more things that they are allowed by the current lifespan (Farabi & Mahdi, 67). Another major advantage is to become free of the fear of decay. No one would ever wish to find his or her body to fall apart with age. And anything that would ultimately lead to the elimination of this experience would be welcome news to any individual.
Living longer would be very beneficial to the younger generation as they would be taught a lot of things by the old people. Living for more than two hundred years means that the individual would have great experience and he or she would understand what life really is. Their advice to the younger generation would be of great importance as it would help them in making appropriate decisions as well as helping to choose the right kind of life to lead. Mortality is also important as there would be production of goods that are usually used when the person is old because there would be market; this means that they would help in the growth of economy. It would also be interesting for an individual to see his or her grand children being born as well as watch them growing (Farabi & Mahdi, 67).
Time is the sole actual limitation of man. Any other resource can always be compensated for by the effort of a person. If an individual experiences political persecution, for example, he or she usually has the chance of recovering his or her finances or even ensuring that there is the enforcement of their rights with time as long as they are alive. However, when time depletes the very energy necessary for living, the very strength of youth, like pursuits becomes more and more inconceivable (Huard, 133).
Works Cited
Farabi & Mahdi. Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. Ithaca N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2001. Print.
Huard, Laurie R. Plato’s political thought: The cave and other stories. New York: Algora Pub, 2006. Print.