Gorgias

66
This essay offers a predisciplinary historical analysis of Gorgias' famous
speech. I call the analysis "predisciplinary" to indicate my belief that
the texts of fifth-century Greek writers, especially those by the figures commonly
referred to as the Older Sophists, ought to be approached with the
awareness that certain "disciplines" were not yet formalized either in theory
in practice. In particular, the dichotomy often used to distinguish between
"philosophical" and "rhetorical" discourse is simply not evident in the texts
of the fifth century that describe sophistic education.4
67
M~ con~ention is that certain persistent questions about Gorgias'
1!elen y~e!d different and perhaps unanticipated answers once the speech
is rep~s1t10ned as a predisciplinary text. I will revisit three questions:
':"hat I~ the spe~ch 's purpose? What are its contributions to fifth-century
d1scurs1ve practices? What are its contributions to fifth-century theory?

The stated goal of the speech is to exonerate the legendary Helen of the
charge of deserting her husband Menelaus and running away with Paris-the
act that precipitated the famous Trojan War.
68
Gorgias - show that blame on Helen is unjust

epideictic "display"

What happened to these speeches?

rhetoric or philosophy?
70
79
"I want to address several hermeneutic practices that have obscured
some of the ways Gorgias' Helen affected the content and practice of later
theorizing. Specifically, I want to identify those features of the text that can
be described as paradigmatic; that is, that serve as exemplars for later theorists.
Kuhn describes exemplars as "shared examples": practical, concrete
"problem solutions," the methods or procedures of which are imitated by
~thers.43 The virtue of such an approach is that it emphasizes that theorizing
~s .a form of praxis. Gorgias' Helen is not only a set of interesting concepts;
it is also a way of conceptualizing. His text not only provides us with another
chapter in the history of thought, but in the fifth century B.C.E. it enacted a
novel means of thinking. In short, in addition to asking the question "What
did Gorgias say?" we need to ask, "What did his speech do?" Advancing new
ways of theorizing about the world is at least as important as the content of
the specific theories we might associate with specific figures. It well may be
the case that Gorgias' most important theoretical contdbution is his act of
theorizing rather than any particular theoretical statement per se.
Though Gorgias' speech is filled with statements that we
81
In short, we underestimate the significance of the earlier \Vriters' efforts
to come to grips with the process of theorizing itse(f by overestimating the
sophistication of such early "theories." When predisciplinary theoretical efforts
are treated as if the authors were educated in methods and language
developed much later, their role in transforming intellectual practices is missed.

Notes from Karl:

“Toward a Predisciplinary Analysis of Gorgias’ Helen”

Edward Schiappa

Historiography

·         “Predisciplinary historical approach”

o   Predisciplinarity-the idea that when studying early texts, it is unfair/unjust/invalid to saddle them with analysis based on disciplines and theories not yet formalized or even invented.

o   In particular, predisciplinarity here means “avoiding vocabulary and assumptions about discursive theories and practice imported from the fourth century when analyzing fifth-century texts” can't use other terms -- like rhetoric that hasn't been invented yet - but it is ok to use terms to decide what is going on--to look at it in context

Research Questions:

1.      What is the speech’s purpose? Looks like he is trying to exonerate

2.      What are its contributions to fifth-century discursive practices?

3.      What are its contributions to fifth-century theory?

Arguments:

1.      Identifying Gorgias’ Helen as an “epideictic” speech is a misleading characterization.

2.      The speech is not a veiled defense of the art of rhetoric.

3.      Gorgias may have inaugurated the prose genre of encomia.

4.      Gorgias advanced fifth-century rationalism by enacting innovations in prose composition. Move from mythos to logos - move to prose

5.      Helen’s most significant “theoretical” contribution is a secular account of logos

Didn't have a theory of rhetoric, but was able to theorize

Apagogic—proving indirectly by showing the impossibility or absurdity of the opposing view

Apologia—a work concerned with justification or defense of a person or action

Encomium—a work concerned with praising a person or thing

Epideictic—speech of praise or blame

Epideixis—a speech written for presentation/demonstration

Logos—reasoned speech/”expression in prose”

Praxis—putting theory into practice

Predisciplinary - difference between philosophy and rhetoric (theory and practice). --  not just a teaching speech, display speech, teaching speech...it defies definition

Placement in time predates

display - advertising- educating, entertaining

- Schiappa - classicist - looking into historical backgrounds -- care not to force a meaning in interpretation