Episode 142: Plato’s “Phaedrus” on Love and Speechmaking
The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
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The Dismissal of Rhetoric and Poetry
Socrates dismisses poetry as a mere imitation. He also speaks very persuasively and speaks about how to speak persuasively. So there's this kind of tension with on the one hand dismissing poetry and dismissing rhetoric, but on the other hand, pointing towards the right kind of divine madness or persuasive speech. And so it's not as simple as saying that those things are wrong. In fact, in some ways, both of them are incredibly important speaking persuasively and also being divinely inspired.
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