Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2001 10:40:08 -0500 From: allen scult <allen.scult-AT-drake.edu> Subject: Re: The misunderstanding statement 2 Henk and Michael, Needless to say, on this one, I come down on the side of Henk, rhetoric, and Bourbon, though not necessarily in that order. In the Sophist lectures, Heidegger admires Plato for being able to "think the sophist in himself," and to display that thinking philosophically. Heidegger recognized Plato in all the key characters in the Dialogues. Socrates doesn't see the joke, of course, but we do, and so learn from Plato what Socrates himself might have known but could never say outright: That the philosopher is distinguished from the sophist only by the capaciousness of his "rhetorical how"--that is by HOW he is able to put his understanding to words in the context of being-with. There are key passages, especially in the Phaedrus and the Apology, where one can "see" dialectic becoming rhetoric in the course of Socrates' speech, and then rising to heights beyond the reach of dialectic. It is Plato's genius to show us, to demonstrate philosophy as a possibility of existence by thinking the sophist in himself on the way to philosophy, and through his capacious word-making to almost get us there. Michael says: >Rather, I want to maintain a distinction between rhetoric and philosophizing. I think everyone cognizant of the inherent duplicity of language wants to maintain that distinction in order that what they say be distinguished from the "rhetoric" of the they. This insistence is probably strongest on the part of politicians, theologians, and philosophers. What makes Plato ( and by implication, Heidegger, because he understands it) stand out, rising above the rhetorical chatter of the rest of us, is that they are able to put their recognition of the impossibility of making the distinction in practice into practice! ( I think the last sentence has to be read twice to be understood) As to the bourbon matter, as Henk suggests, eke-stasis is eke-stasis irrespective of what you happen to be eating or drinking at the time. I've known some philosophers whose focus on the relevant ambiguities was extraordinary while supposedly under the influence. I remember that night in the Symposium. . . Allen -- Professor Allen Scult Dept. of Philosophy HOMEPAGE: " Heidegger on Rhetoric and Hermeneutics": Drake University http://www.multimedia2.drake.edu/s/scult/scult.html Des Moines, Iowa 50311 PHONE: 515 271 2869 FAX: 515 271 3826 --- from list heidegger-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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