ABSTRACT
Why does Socrates ask about rhetoric? It is easy to speculate on various reasons Socrates might have had. But the first question is, what kind of question is he asking? What is he trying to find out? Socrates and Plato cannot have meant that there is anything wrong in trying to speak forcefully or persuasively – in conversations, for instance. They cannot have suggested that you should always give clear reasons or proofs of what you say, or even that you should be able to.
