Did Socrates think that persuasive rhetoric was bad, or merely the misuse of it?
For me, it seems like a tougher question than one would think. While Socrates obviously speaks to the fallacious nature of rhetoric, the analogies he uses can occasionally be questionable, thus, possibly committing the informal fallacy of weak analogy. Some scholars will also point out that while Socrates speaks down to sophistry and poetry, Plato (who wrote all of Socrates' dialogues) is renowned as one of the most eloquent philosophical writers in history. Plato's Republic is on par with classic literature, as far as the reader is concerned.
With that being said, Socrates places the highest emphasis on the love and pursuit of knowledge, for knowledge's sake, and acknowledges the great power of it's usage, for better or worse. Given the time period (filled with prominent and influential sophists), it's possible that Socrates only witnessed the downside to persuasive rhetoric, therefore, I would not be surprised to find that he thought it had no place in any kind of medium or school of thought.
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