Whilst reading the introduction to Plato as well as reminiscing upon the elements of rhetoric that the Sophists proposed with respect to absolute knowledge and the differentiation of who could attain and fully understand it. In the introduction of Plato, Bizzell and Herzberg write, “the absolute truth he seeks is not to be uncovered by people’s rational abilities, or logos, alone; ethical and pathetical elements necessarily accompany conversations among real people” (29; 3rd paragraph). I was most struck by the collaborative efforts that Plato writes about in the unveiling absolute truth, an aspect which the Sophists vehemently deny and attest is not available to humans; therefore, it is interesting to see where the two intersect and at what points they challenge the principles held by both parties.
In Plato’s Phaedrus, Socrates and Phaedrus participate in a dialogue concerning love and its varied nature. What struck me most about the first speech made by Phaedrus was his distinction about lovers and non-lovers as well as their abilities to distinguish and pass judgment. To this end, Phaedrus states, “For lovers praise your words and acts beyond due measure, partly through fear of incurring your displeasure, and partly because their own judgement is obscured by their passion” (142; lefthand side, first paragraph). While Plato and the Sophists disagree upon various aspects of rhetoric and the topic of knowledge, it seems like they both mark the powers and manipulation of language and speech, though indirect it may be. The introduction stated that Plato’s idea of absolute truth could be unveiled by means of conversations among and between people in the natural sense which Socrates and Phaedrus both perform and discuss in terms of a power relationship between lovers.
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