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Full Idea
The science of whether one must persuade or not must rule over the science capable of persuading.
Gist of Idea
The question of whether or not to persuade comes before the science of persuasion
Source
Plato (The Statesman [c.356 BCE], 304c)
Book Ref
Plato: 'Statesman', ed/tr. Bernadete,Seth [University of Chicago 1986], p.58
A Reaction
Plato probably thinks that reason has to be top of the pyramid, but there is always the Nietzschean/romantic question of why we should place such a value on what is rational.
| 16125 | To reveal a nature, divide down, and strip away what it has in common with other things [Plato] |
| 279 | Only divine things can always stay the same, and bodies are not like that [Plato] |
| 5961 | The soul gets its goodness from god, and its evil from previous existence. [Plato] |
| 281 | The arts produce good and beautiful things by preserving the mean [Plato] |
| 16123 | Whenever you perceive a community of things, you should also hunt out differences in the group [Plato] |
| 16124 | No one wants to define 'weaving' just for the sake of weaving [Plato] |
| 282 | Non-physical beauty can only be shown clearly by speech [Plato] |
| 22559 | Democracy is the worst of good constitutions, but the best of bad constitutions [Plato, by Aristotle] |
| 283 | The question of whether or not to persuade comes before the science of persuasion [Plato] |