Rhetoric was the cornerstone of political discourse in antiquity, particularly in ancient Rome and Greece. The ability to speak about subjects, even if you held no expertise in that field, was seen as valuable in societies that placed a premium on political participation. Sophists believed rhetoric of this nature to be crucial to life, not just politics. Nevertheless, it remained tied almost intrinsically to the political world. Plato criticised this style, suggesting that speaking with confidence about issues you knew nothing of was duplicitous and deceitful - nothing more than empty flattery. Aristotle attempted to salvage rhetoric by stratifying it into categories and broadening it so that it truly was a means of persuasion, not confined simply to politics. Since antiquity, rhetoric has shifted significantly as our philosophies on logic and forensics have changed, allowing it to be applied with greater vigour in the solution of contemporary problems.
