Plato (428-347 B.C.) stands as one of the three greatest philosophers of the ancient Greek Athenian tradition, sharing the honor of the triad with his teacher, Socrates (469-399 B.C.) and his student, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.). As a matter of practical importance, he was also a teacher and rhetorician, the first as a source of general livelihood and philosophical obligation, the second as a consideration of livelihood within the specific context of Athenian society. The democracy of the Athenians relied heavily upon rhetorical skill - in its politics and its jurisprudence particularly - and the concerned philosopher could not be "of this world" without being interested in rhetoric. Nor could the teacher: Plato's Academy required students, and the techniques of rhetoric were considered one of the necessary talents for a well-educated Athenian to possess. So it was that Plato considered matters of rhetoric in his writings from both the high level of theoretical consideration and the lower level of self-interest.
As a matter of self-interest, Plato's concern was with the Sophists' approach to rhetoric - for his contemporary Isocrates was a far more successful and influential teacher than was Plato (Jaeger 111). Plato's Academy was not known for producing political leaders nor champion rhetoricians; Isocrates' school was (Bizzell and Herzberg 43 & 55). Partly this was the result of emphasis. Isocrates and lesser Sophists emphasized the oratorical type of rhetorical training that produced immediate results in the political and legal arenas of Athenian life. Plato's emphasis was upon the structural uses of rhetoric. He cared about how command of the rhetorical technique can help discipline the inquisitive mind and give shape to the philosopher's quest for truth.
It is this quest for truth that sets the tone for the high-level dispute between Plato and the Sophists of Isocrates' level of accomplishment. (Note: Like Plato a...