Lesson 4 Communication (Socratics)

Page 1: Introduction to Public Speaking

• Question: "What is it about 'public speaking'?"

  • Importance of public speaking in communication and expression.

Page 2: The Socratics

• Key Figures: Plato, Socrates, & Aristotle

  • Exploration of their contributions to rhetoric and philosophy.

Page 3: Socrates and Plato

• Socrates (469-399 B.C.):

  • Roles: Soldier, Councilman, and Philosopher.

  • Beliefs on Truth:

    • Universal, absolute, and immutable truths exist.

    • Influenced by thinker Parmenides.

  • Famous Quote: "An unexamined life is not worth living."

• Plato (ca. 427-347 B.C.):

  • Student of Socrates.

  • Wrote "Socratic Dialogues" focusing on dialectical investigation (dialektike).

  • Term "educe": From Greek εξάγω; meaning "to extract" or "smuggle out."

  • Influence of 'Gorgias' and notion of rhetorike.

Page 4: Philosophical Concepts

• Socrates & Plato’s Shadow:

  • The existence of "Shadow" truth emphasized against superficial understandings.

  • Philosophical rule over rhetoric.

  • Critique of Sophists: viewed as misleading.

  • Advocacy for Philosopher Kings as ideal rulers.

Page 5: Socrates as a Healer

• Philosophical Perspective:

  • Socrates described as a "healer of the soul" (J. T. McNeill, 1951).

  • Emphasized the healing power of words as described by Entralgo (1970).

  • Terms:

    • Iatros tes psuches: healer of the soul/mind.

    • Iatroi logoi: "Healing words".

  • Links to modern psychotherapy and interpersonal communication.

Page 6: Sophists vs. Socratics

• Contrasting Views:

  • The Sophists:

    • Rhetoric "creates" truth.

    • Seen as the only means to reach the best possible answers.

  • The Socratics:

    • Truth as our best answer.

    • Rhetoric aids in understanding what is true.

  • Invitation to summarize contrasting philosophies.