Plato’s Phaedrus: Educational Relation of Eros and Rhetoric

Eros and rhetoric, the theme of Plato’s dialogue Phaedrus, can be interpreted from an educational perspective. Eros as the passion that gives rise to the wings of the soul and causes humans to love the beauty of heaven, is a concept that represents the relationship between a teacher and a student. A teacher is a being who approaches students and expresses love, leading the students to love wisdom, which is the embodiment of beauty, through the teacher. A student’s love for wisdom is possible through the teachings of a teacher who loves knowledge. In order to teach knowledge well, true rhetorical skills are needed. True rhetoric is not a procedural method separate from the content, but a method of exploring knowledge attached to the content that enables a deep understanding of the content. When teaching the content of a book written in writing, a teacher strives to implement true rhetoric by using his or her own words to ask questions, refute, and explain. A teacher is a being who breathes life into dead letters through words.