“On the
Beautiful” is a subtitle, or perhaps alternate title, for Phaedrus by Plato. I think “On the Beautiful” well describes the
ensuing discourse because the topics of beauty, truth, and rhetoric are like
concentric circles—the question remains, however, “Which circles are
encompassed by the others?”
In his
discussion with Socrates, Phaedrus points out, “they say that persuasion comes
from what seems to be true, not from the truth” (pg 156). His words resound
through history as people have been swallowed wholesale by beautiful speeches
delivered by politicians with corrupt agendas (check out this link on the
eloquence of Hitler). Plato writes elsewhere that “they steal our souls with their embellished words”
(Menexenus 61). Perhaps a link exists
between beauty and people’s perception of truth.
To surmise the
character Socrates’ speech, the most beautiful things reflect the highest realities,
and the person who has seen the highest realities catches a glimpse, a memory,
of those things in the face of the beautiful. Madness falls upon this person,
and he is called a lover. His soul will grow wings and ascend to the highest
heights and live in that reality forever (Phaedrus
148-154). After all, Socrates reminds, “every soul is immortal” (Phaedrus 148).
Based off the reading, I think that Socrates might argue that although we may know “ugly truths” (i.e. millions of people dying of starvation, AIDS, warfare, etc., every day) which are completely unappealing and unbeautiful to us, we yearn for beautiful things because we (consciously or unconsciously) believe them to be associated with eternal truths. “Baloney!” we exclaim, but then Socrates might raise his eyebrows and exhort us to check out our own cultural messages, especially those concerning love. Even kids are taught that "love goes on and on."
Do you think beauty, truth, and rhetoric are concentric circles, and if so, how
would you label them?
In his discussion with Socrates, Phaedrus points out, “they say that persuasion comes from what seems to be true, not from the truth” (pg 156). - The importance of this passage is exactly what I picked up from this reading, too. Throughout history power and persuasion seem to have been dominated by this very concept. If you repeat the same thing often enough and present it as truth, eventually people begin to believe that it is true. This is hugely important in understanding our current society. Fortunatley, there are always those who question and seek proof.
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