Plato on the Value of Philosophy: The Art of Argument in the Gorgias and Phaedrus

Plato was the first philosopher in the Western tradition to reflect
systematically on rhetoric. In this book, Tushar Irani presents a comprehensive
and innovative reading of the Gorgias and the Phaedrus,
the only two Platonic dialogues to focus on what an art of argument
should look like, treating each of the texts individually, yet ultimately
demonstrating how each can best be understood in light of the other.
For Plato, the way in which we approach argument typically reveals
something about our deeper desires and motivations, particularly with
respect to other people, and so the key to understanding his views on
the proper practice of argument lies in his understanding of human
psychology. According to this reading, rhetoric done well is simply the
practice of philosophy, the pursuit of which has far-reaching implications
for how we should relate to others and how we ought to
live.