Maral Frendjian
For modern
students, a training in rhetoric such as that offered by Gorgias is more
preferable, rather than learning how to distinguish truth from falsehood. It is the art of forceful language,
emphasizing figures of speech and focusing on devices for swaying and
persuading an audience, that would be most beneficial for students lives
today. Despite the fact that it is
simply ornamented language to make a good facade, the rhetoric by Gorgias is
necessary for the success of students, especially those who would like to
"sell" their ideas, products or beliefs to the people (the larger
population).
In the world we live in, there are many ways of
getting the things that we want. The way
most people would like to believe that their accomplishments were achieved is through hard work and sweat. However, that is not how it works, because
most people around the world lie to get things to go their way. A perfect example of a group of people that
use the rhetoric are politicians.
Politicians will say and do anything to convince the citizens that they
are right, and that they will do all they promise to do, if you vote for him or
her. They try to convince us all the
time, and often succeed, that they will make changes. Just think about the many times we've heard,
"If you vote for me, I will lower the taxes."
Gorgias makes a very clear point regarding the
power of the rhetoric. The following
quote from Gorgias expresses the impact that rhetoric can have on those
listening.
I mean the ability to convince by means of
speech
a jury in a court of justice,
members of the Council
in their Chamber, voters at a
meeting of the Assembly,
and any other gathering of citizens
whatever it may be.
By the exercise of this ability you
will have the doctor
and the trainer as your slaves, and
your man of business
will turn out to be making money
not for himself but for
another; for you, in fact, who have
the ability to speak
and to convince the masses.
(Gorgias, p.28 sec. 453)
What Gorgias is
saying in the preceding quote is about the amazing power of persuasion. He is saying that if you have the ability to
convince, you have the power to sway anyone listening by your ideas. He demonstrates the diverse situations in
which the "ability to convince" can help the persuader, by giving him
the power so that the control will be in his or her hands. Convincing is not only a form of speech, it
is a form of twisting the truth, elaborating on the truth, in other words
lying.
If you ask students today, they will tell you
that people cannot "do right" all the time. Although, Socrates says "...truth can never be refuted."
(Socrates, p.60 sec.473), which means that when only truth is spoken, no one will
be able to win you over or prove you wrong.
Therefore, according to Socrates, training on how to distinguish truth
from falsehood would not protect you from rhetoric such as that offered by
Gorgias. Even though this is an
important point, in modern society survival is based on the power of persuasion.
As said by Socrates, "
...the orator does not teach juries and other bodies about right and wrong - he
merely persuades them;..."(Socrates, p.32 sec.455). What he means is that orators do not tell you
what is wrong and what is right in the situation, they tell you the facts and
then try to persuade you to believe them.
Everyday when we
turn on the television companies try to convince us that their products are
better, by giving us reasons which aren't always the full truth. For example,
DiDi Seven says that it will remove stains off of anything. That is not quite true for when you read the
cover of the box you will see that it says do not use on colored materials for
it is a bleach. They "lied" to
the customers because they said it would remove any stain. In actuality it removes the stain by bleaching and this could
actually ruin the article of material you are using it on since it will leave a
white mark after removing the stain.
Furthermore, anyone working in sales must convince the customer that
their product is the product the customer needs, despite the possibility that
the customer may not really need that product in particular.
For students in this day and in age, it would
be beneficial for them to be trained in rhetoric because not too many people
believe in truth anymore. Gorgias is
right by saying the rhetoric can distinguish
someone who is successful from someone who is not unless that person is
successful by hard work and honesty, which doesn't happen often. Knowing the difference between truth and
falsehood isn't something that is very hard to learn but being able to convince
and persuade people is a talent that students have to be trained in.
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