民主政治和修辞学

民主政治的源头要追溯到古典时代的希腊城邦，这是由公民中的多数人参与的直接民主。在这样的体制之下，话语成了重要的政治工具，所有的问题都交给了论辩的艺术，以演说的形式表述，符合证明和证伪的模式，最后在公民大会或陪审法庭形成多数人的决议。如此，作为语言艺术的思考和实践之修辞学，就由智者提供、且为政治家所必须，从中派生了西方的教育传统和价值观念。

Democratic Politics and Rhetoric

The origin of democratic politics dated back to the Greek city-states in the classical period, when democracy was embodied by the involvement of the majority of citizens in public affairs. In this system, speech was a very important political instrument. All issues were, dependent on the rhetorical art, delivered in form of speech according to the formula of attesting and denying. The final decision would be made by the ecclesia or jury. Thus rhetoric, as the thinking mode and practice of lingual art provided by sophists, gradually became a necessity of the statesmen. It also turned out to be a source from which the western educational tradition and ideology derived.