Title

Platonic Rhetoric and the Art of Faith Production.

Authors

Wachs, Anthony

Abstract

Plato has widely been interpreted as an enemy of rhetoric. His Gorgias is especially used as evidence that he despised rhetoric as a deceitful producer of opinion (doxa) and upheld philosophy as the true art of knowledge (episteme) discovery. However, in his Theaetetus, he complicates the concept of knowledge, and can be interpreted as developing an art of persuasion that is concerned with the production of faith (pistis) rather than knowledge or opinion. The result of rereading Plato as such tempers the disciplinary narrative concerning Plato and strengthens James Kinneavy's thesis that relates the development of Christian faith with Greek rhetoric. Reevaluating Plato's epistemology in relation to the concept of pistis not only nuances the discipline's understanding of Plato, but also challenges advocates of a "Christian rhetoric" to reconsider the relationship of faith and reason in relation to persuasion.

Subjects

PLATO, 428-347 B.C.; RHETORIC; POLITICAL philosophy; ANCIENT philosophy; THEORY of knowledge

Publication

Journal of Communication & Religion, 2018, Vol 41, Issue 4, p36

ISSN

0894-2838

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.5840/jcr201841422