The Philosophical Value of Rhetoric: A Gorgianic and Aristotelian Heritage

Abstract This paper analyzes the philosophical value of rhetoric by placing the Gorgianic and Aristotelian traditions - typically seen in contrast - in a different theoretical framework. According to our interpretation, rhetoric can be considered as an “anthropology of logos ”, by offering a reinterpretation of the human as the being who possesses logos and lives in the polis . In this perspective, we highlight rhetoric’s contribution to contemporary philosophical debates on truth, the interplay between cognition and emotion, and the role of conflict in public discourse. This vision diverges from traditional logocentric or anthropocentric models as well as from current post-humanist perspectives.