Blog #3 -- Chariot of the Soul

It was interesting learning about Plato's chariot of the soul. The way he described it, and the way the images look (http://www.wutsamada.com/alma/ancient/chariot2.jpg), the person is the chariot rider (charioteer?) who guides the horses. There are two horses, the noble and the unnoble, basically. If the two are working together, the chariot will soar. If, however, the two aren't in sync, the chariot will not soar. This has interesting implications in both rhetoric and real life.

In rhetoric, it portrays an interesting concept. Nowadays, in rhetoric, it almost seems like having the ethical and unethical "horse" pulling your "chariot" is common. It is really easy to pick on politicians, but they do it all the time. They don't always play fairly when trying to convince the people, or to win a vote. Obviously, Plato's chariot seems inaccurate. However, I think that for rhetoric to be considered "good rhetoric," they need to be ethical. Therefore, in my opinion, politicians' rhetoric isn't considered "good" rhetoric in my eyes. Maybe this is what Plato meant.

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