The Birth of Rhetoric

This study explores the first debates around the concept of rhetoric in ancient Greece and links them to contemporary thought. At the centre of discussion stands the relationship between rhetoric and philosophy. In "On What Is Not" and "Encomium of Helen" Gorgias suggested the terrifying and exhilarating possibility that persuasion is nothing but power, and that no human contact is innocent of its manipulative presence. This understanding of rhetoric is subsequently taken up and attacked by Plato and Socrates in their discussions of Gorgias. The author reads these texts and later ones in a sophisticated and philosophic manner. This book concludes with a description of the relationship between the fight over persuasive power and recent feminist debate - a telling example of the topicality of an ancient discussion.