The Rhetoric of Morality and Philosophy, one of the most groundbreaking works of twentieth-century Platonic studies, is now back in print for a new generation of students and scholars to discover. In this volume, distinguished classicist Seth Benardete interprets and pairs two important Platonic dialogues, the Gorgias and the Phaedrus, illuminating Socrates’ notion of rhetoric and Plato’s conception of morality and eros in the human soul.

Following his discussion of the Gorgias as a dialogue about the rhetoric of morality, Benardete turns to the Phaedrus as a discourse about genuine rhetoric, namely the science of eros, or true philosophy. This novel interpretation addresses numerous issues in Plato studies: the relation between the structure of the Gorgias and the image of soul/city in the Republic, the relation between the structure of Phaedrus and the concept of eros, and Socrates’ notion of ignorance, among others.

CONTENTS:

List of Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction
I. Gorgias 447a1-461b2
II. Polus 461b3-481b5
III. Callicles 1 481b6-499b3
IV. Callicles 2 499b4-527e7
V. Phaedrus
VI. Phaedrus and Socrates 227a1-230e5
VII. Lysias 230e6-237a6
VIII. Socrates 1 237a7-242a2
IX. Socrates’ Daimonion 242a3-243e8
X. Socrates 2 243e9-257b6
XI. Writing 257b7-258d6
XII. Horses and Asses 258d7-250d2
XII. The Art of Speeches 260d3-262c4
XIII. The Art of Speeches 260d3-262c4
XIV. Lysias and Socrates Examined 262c5-266c1
XV. Rhetoric 266c1-274b4
XVI. An Egyptian Story 274b6-278b6
XVII. Lysias and Isocrates 278b7-279c8
Epilogue: On Reading Poetry Platonically
General Index
Index of Platonic Passages Discussed

AUTHOR:

Seth Benardete (1930-2001) was professor of classics at New York University. In addition to NYU he taught at The New School, Harvard University, Brandeis University, and St. John's College in Annapolis. He was the author or translator of many books, most recently The Argument of the Action, Plato's "Laws," and Plato's "Symposium," all published by the University of Chicago Press.