I Pity the Fool (who is so Easily Persuaded)

Gorgias’s Encomium of Helen attempts to acquit Helen from the crime of causing the Trojan war.  Gorgias claims Helen was either persuaded by the higher authority of the gods, abducted by force, or, his most important point, persuaded and conquered by love.  Gorgias, though a rhetorician himself, insists that “those who have persuaded and do persuade are shapers of lying discourse.”  Furthermore, he expounds upon the idea that “He who persuaded…did wrong; while she who was persuaded as one constrained by means of discourse is wrongly blamed.”  Is he being a hypocrite when he tries to persuade us that persuasion is bad?  And is there no chance of it being Helen’s fault because she was so easily persuaded? 

Is Gorgias Genuine?

             Maybe Gorgias’s take on persuasion is already a little doubtful because he is a persuasionist.  He obviously wanted to persuade us that persuasion is wrong in order to acquit the beautiful, legendary Helen of her crimes.  As a Sophist, Gorgias was most interested in persuading people and creating belief.  He was not so much concerned with truth.  Therefore, it stands to reason that Gorgias could be a hypocrite while still convincing others that persuasion is incredibly wrong.  He did not try to delve into the psyche of Helen, just prove that she was innocent.  Furthermore, Gorgias’s lexis, or the style and delivery of his speech, becomes extremely persuasive himself because he employs various examples of how common people cannot help but be persuaded by superiors and Love.  This hypocritical but effective persuasion reminds me of the time where my brother Jake persuaded me to have an “eat-your-ice-cream-as-fast-as-you-can” contest because it would be fun.  I ate mine in three bites and he hypocritically, slowly savored his. 

Mr. T would not approve of Helen's decisions.

 

Is Helen Easily Persuadable?

            Although Gorgias claims that the persuaders are totally and utterly at fault, I completely disagree.  We all have our agency.  However, it is much easier and popular for Gorgias to claim we are not at fault when we are persuaded to do something dumb than for us to suck it up and take responsibility.  Gorgias as a Sophist was more interested in popularity than right or wrong.  Helen, then, should have some responsibility for her persuasion.  Likewise, when, persuaded by anger and hunger, I angrily grabbed Jake’s unfinished ice-cream, I could have blamed Jake as the original persuader, but in actuality, I needed to blame myself for my own actions.

Ice Cream is a Understated yet Powerful Form
             of Persuasion, especially when younger brothers
          still have theirs when you are finished.