Applying Knowledge

While Phaedrus seems knowledgeable about love through reciting Lysias's speech he is unable to apply the knowledge and seem oblivious to the fact he has the same faults of all lovers.  In Lysias's speech he states: "For lovers praise your words and acts beyond due measure, partly through fear of incurring your displeasure, and partly through because their own judgement is obscured by their passion." (left 142).  After completing the speech Phaedrus fails to see he suffers this very fault when he asks Socrates, "In the name of Zeus, the god of friendship, tell me truly, do you think any other of the Greeks could speak better or more copiously than this on the same subject?" (right 142).  His own love has obscured his judgement on the speech.

Love, like rhetoric, can be viewed as a drug.  Each can evoke great passion which can obscure our judgement.  While we can study rhetoric and become knowledgeable it is meaningless if we are unable to apply this knowledge.  By applying our knowledge of rhetoric we can avoid blindly falling under its influence and not allow our judgement to become obscured.

The interaction between Socrates and Phaedrus between each of the speeches is especially interesting. (142-144).  Socrates is able to use Phaedrus's love for rhetoric to manipulate him brilliantly into hearing his own speech on love.  While Phaedrus is only able to manipulate Socrates once during this exchange: "I swear to you by--by what god? By this plane tree?  I take a solemn oath that unless you produce the discourse in the very presence of this plane tree, I will never read you another or tell you of another." (left 144).  However, even this could have been set up by Socrates's rhetoric to further manipulate Phaedrus into believing he is in control of the situation. Socrates beautifully applies his knowledge of both rhetoric and his audience to manipulate the situation as he pleases.