PLATO'S PROTAGUR S: A course by Professor Leo Strauss in the Department of Politics] Science, University of Chicago, Soring 1965. arch 25, 1965 let us begin at the beginning, e cake one sssuaption which is not entirely clear but vhich is generally accepted, uanely, that students of political science sould neve some 'aovlecge of the history of volitical ailosovay. lov suc ‘ovleds2 is suyylied in the general survey course on the history of political »hilosophy, but some of you may vis: to have a wore detailed or uore evact !mnouledge than can be su>:lied in cuca a cource, a less global and ore specialived !mowledze, I offer, therefove, every second year a course on 2lato's political >hilososhy. Lecture 1 slow Pleto has resented his political shilosovay in such a way that a report about it is particularly inadecuate or unsatisfactory. I have -- I susll not reveat now what I have said often in class -- but I have nov said it in print in The City cnd Lan, the first 16 pages in the caczter on #lato's Revublic, and I ask you to read that. I give thorefore the course on Slato's political shilosophy in the fora of an intzroretation of a single Platonic dialogue. The first croice would naturally be the Rezublic, but the Resublic has one great defect--it is very long--and therefore I orcfer a saorter dialozue. The last tine that I lectured on Plato's 20litical shilososhy I selected the Gorsics on tuese grounds: The Gorgias leads up to the question waica is in a way the broadest of all cuestions: Now should aman live? «nd the ansver siven is geaerally: The philosozhic life is the right life. Sut in the Gorgias this...the shiloso hic life is said to be the truly political life, or rataer Socrates claims that he is the owly true political man, statesaan, in -.thens. The explicit subject of the Gorgias is raetoric aad rhetoric is asserted to be aot an art, but a flattery, “ind of flattery, a shaa," very siai art is @ sjurious iaitatioa of « geaeral ert and Socrates susgests this theme: There are arts dealiaz vita the body and arts dealing with the soul, and there is one which is call gymnastics for the body, nd aedicine. / writes on board / Building up the usalthy body--gyanastics; restoring healt: when lost-- medicine, Siailarly there are two arts here. One is celled the legislative art, vhich is said to correszonc vith gyunastics, and another is called, let us say the punitive art. Tue Greek word used is the same cs justice in the sense of course of vindictive justice, / writes on boerd / Chiefly unisiaent, you lino, 2unishment being a kind of medicine for the soul. fow these tvo tojetner are called the politiccl art. / writes on boord / Socr-tes says there is no coaion nase for bie tyo arts the body. nd now we come to tne corresxondin: saz arts. Cosaetics, here, Waich ackes the oyearance of a healtay body by all kinds of things. dnd medicine, tiat is the ert of coo':in3, cooking, pastry cooliag also a shai cratificetion, ind here, sovnistry, and corres ondin, to that is rhetoric, Taat is the sc.ema, the very awbiguous scuome which Socrates 2rooses ia the Gorgias.Plato Spring 1965 Lecture 1 Page four of his art is, tat te suowld give a brief ans‘ again vith the distinction vetveea rictoric aac rhetoriciaa os such is a aaker of long speecuzs, ‘Tie diclecticiaa, on the other toad, is a r of siort sjeeciis. aid you say?" Say it again." On what ground?! This is a zaler oy sucrt sveeches. Yow vecuuse ia dialectic every ste) can ve cu.refulty considered, and whereas in paetorical c eve mat is so invortaat is tie overall effect of the wiole svecc1, ecrecizlly on the passions. io: Gorgias clains to be a vorfect ascter of syeecu, i.e., to be as good at aaling short speechos as at wa%ing lon; spe2cies, and therefore he says, of course, Iwill oblige you, I ea s.ort syeeci. wow tris is another handica of Gorgias. ‘ue first aandica) vas that he sets tived out froa his long sveecies; tae secon. that ae is couyelled to sive short answers, ud 2 consecuence of tis and ancvaer aaadicap wich we will see soon ic taut he is unavle to state his case for rhetoric, and for nic rueteric ia jarticular, tais has to do lectic 2ecause the ow there.,.it is perfectiy...I aa sure tere are quite a few aaon3 you vio say, hat does this strange comedy wean? hat is the interest of it for us? A perfectly lezitimate cuestica, but waich I cannot cac.er nov. I sean, either you tave a certain conficeace that I aa aot c--how stcli I say it?--a dusiness--noz hos do you call tis?--a couscian...no, show business. Or you have aot. I mean, let us tisr2fore wait. Uo: Gorgias ansiers, firot, rhetoric is an art which has to do with opescies, ut Socrates s2ys, all art as tc do ita syeeches. Por ecaasle, iedicine hus to do with cpeeches about nealti, hasn't it? All opeecics Gesl with sowe subject matter, An art Jecliag vita sveecies, waich do net deai vith subject matter, does not exist. Gorgics tries to get out of this fix by saying that yes, but sone arts vroceed eaiefly throush weaual wor': and can be sracticed in silence, thot is to say, without c.eechs were: others jrocecd ciiefly or solely trough speech. n extrore ile: arithaetic, speech. .nd you can of course also figure cilzatly but the actual vorl: is when you cvzal: to yourcelf. Taereas the ‘orl: of a sculptor, ais art is practiced sileitiy; ne doesa't hve to vijure “speclsingly. “Shetoric is one cf the arts waiea oroceed chieTly turough speecies. Dut still it 2uct have a subject actter. That's siaple. It's sudject sotier are the greatest and best of huian affairs, But what are these greatect and best of huaaa not veraags he=lth the most imvortcat thing, or streasta, or tas Soerites crgues this out in one form waich is to be calize c < closue. Ia ovuer vores ne aakes the jaysieia veing the gra:tect tui makes tie gy: teechor soeak in favor of strength, or beauty vein, th: dest es the toaey-asser oveak in favor of wealta being tle > Pais aecas in this dialocue wivtin a d@iclosue, wics is a very conuea occurr Platoaie diviogues, Ags hev2, hovever, a ssecial aeaning, a special our ceo. And this, the vey, is 2 general ere are a livited nuazer of cevices e, the diclo-ue :tituin te dialogue. ferent function ia differest contexts. vy © waie Qlato us But t.is aay 4Plato Spring 1965 Lecture 1 Page five Wow in this context tae function of the cialosue within the dialogue is to show Gorgias ais competitors. Gorgias srys, I teacu the aost iajortaat tains. ind je stove aia the teccser of aedicine, who raises the sase claia. By ssowing...oy reaiacin; Gerzias of his cowretitors, he adds 2 third gredicasent to tus tuo vaica ve have already seen: his tiredaess, and the coijulsion to speak... give brief answers. 1 jeneral lesson frow tis: Socrates does tuese things, for ecaagle, 12 Cialojue Jit.ia te ciclogue showing these coazetitors; Socrates imsely uses rietoric, vecause these are ruetorical devices. Or his diclectics as used ere ic raetorical, is a aicture of dizlectics and rhetoric. 4nd e tay aa’e a big juap, ia ao way born out by what I have s2id nov, out a lind of hyvothesis, tne Gorgias, vtatever it aay do regarding ruetoric, exhibits Socrates! raetoric, which is in no way the theae of the cialogue, but it exaibits it in ceed. iow we are still confronted with tais question: that are the greatest huaaa things? Since there is suc a..,or chat is happiness? ind Gorgiss says tat the good which rietcric produces is in truth the greatest good, and the cause of vota fresdoa and ruling over others in one's city. Tor rhetoric enables = 1an to persuade people by speeches ia political asseavlics and thuc to control the piysiciaas, the woney-salers, or whoever may be coisetitors of the rietorician. ie may say rhetoric is the art of persuadiag political asseablies about »olitically relevant matters. That is surely truz, but it cos not gc ver; deer. Socrates argues, coatinues as Zo-lows: You say rhetoric verrusdes. Sut does no’ tue aatheaticica, too, rersuade? “Je cust wale c distinction vetveen teaching aad persuading. Raetoric, ruztoric does aot teach, as aathe~ matics teacues. Tv only sersuaces. Yow waile this exciange go2s on, there occure @ siift of euzhasis to one varticulor Lint of Pictoric, foreusic ructoric, the rhetoric practiced sofcr2 Inv courts, the Lind of rieteric waica is ccacerned with just cad uajuct things 2s suc, and vaic1 concerar the individual Wao accuses or is accused. nd here in tais coatext tuo iaorescion is erected that just ond unjust things are the sole these of rhetoric. ilow after Soc: 2s led Gorgias to this point, a leadin; of hich Gorgias is fully unavare, ne leads hia agein to political rhetoric proper, to what the Gree! czlled deliberative rietoric, that is, what is going on ia the aseeably vaere you decide about lavs, peace and var, aad so’on. fith an explicit reference to the voteatial students in the audience, u2cause there are asny people around, Socrates induces Gorgias te reves) the iuiense power of rhotcric. Tie disease pover of rhetoric. ve: bitious studeat in the audience, noteati=1 tyrants, so to s7ea%, we Gorgias’ pupil if Gorgias suceeds in sowing that, without ay trainias you ill never succeed in tue arena. Just as today one could ver n this country, one cculd peracis ante 2 case you have to co to lay i, ca8 verhaas to thic or thet le sescol, if you waat to be highly successful...there sre sow2 people who vould also say through volitical science dezartuents...but at tis mowent it seemed to b2 clear tiet being trained by Gorgias would be th2 dest vay of becoaias aa outstanding evecter, Tae aain...the ansver of Gorgias ean be reduced tc tais siasle proposition: ‘“tuetoric is quaci-oanipotent.