The μῦθος of Pernicious Rhetoric: The Platonic Possibilities of λογός in Aristotle's Rhetoric

Robin Reames

doi:10.1525/rh.2012.30.2.134

Abstract

This essay argues that Plato's use of narrative conceals within Socrates' explicit rejection of rhetoric an implicit authorial endorsement, manifested in the dialectical and rhetorical failures surrounding Socrates' deliberations over logos. I suggest that Aristotle's Rhetoric is consonant with Plato's view in its general affirmation of rhetoric's power, utility, and necessity as well as in its specific recommendations regarding logos. I employ Martin Heidegger's explication of logos in Aristotle to illuminate how the term conforms to Plato's implicit position regarding logos and rhetoric. This interpretation entails an expanded meaning of logos as it is found in Rhetoric, assigning it a more primary, pre-logical, oral content.

Highlights

W edged the integral function of dialogue and narrative for correct interpretations of Plato’s texts[1] and, on the other hand, initiated a return to unified readings of Plato and Aristotle’s philosophies[2], with few exceptions, little work has been done to suggest how these two scholarly trends might affect interpretations of Aristotle’s Rhetoric
Poster’s hermeneutic comes as a response to those who argue that the consonance between Plato and Aristotle entails that the latter’s Rhetoric is an attempt to fulfill the former’s requirements for a good rhetoric as they are defined by Socrates Phaedrus,[5] as part of a larger effort to act as academic “advocates for rhetoric.”[6]
I propose that Socrates’ dramatic dealings with logos disclose Plato’s embrace of rhetoric, they indicate a potential expansion for the concept of rhetorical logos as it is inherited by Aristotle and employed in his Rhetoric

Summary

Introduction

W edged the integral function of dialogue and narrative for correct interpretations of Plato’s texts[1] and, on the other hand, initiated a return to unified readings of Plato and Aristotle’s philosophies[2] (common in antiquity), with few exceptions, little work has been done to suggest how these two scholarly trends might affect interpretations of Aristotle’s Rhetoric. I argue that Martin Heidegger’s explication of logos in Aristotle neatly illuminates how the term may be consonant with Plato’s implicit position, entailing an expanded meaning of the logos as it is found in Rhetoric, and assigning it a more primary, pre-logical content.

Results

Conclusion