Plato and Socrates are seen as a team and often lumped together. Plato was Socrate's student and therefore held mostly the same beliefs as him. Plato eventually became Aristotle's teacher and mentor (Lee 2017).
Socrates and Plato denounced writing so much so that Socrates did not write much of what we attach his name to. Plato wrote for him and of his teachings. They weren't fans of writing because they believed writing weakens our memories, writing cannot defend itself, and it often ends up being read by audiences who were not intended to read it. (Lee 2017)
They were not accepting of others' views, and actually believed that others should adhere to their ideals.
Platonic Epistemology
Unlike the Sophists, they believe that there are indeed absolute Truths. These absolute truths are "permanent, infinite, transcendent, perfect, obtainable, [and] universal" (handout). We strive to attain these absolute Truths internally. (Lee 2017)
Platonic epistemology prescribes that souls are immortal and come from the noumenalworld. This noumenal world contains perfect and ideal forms of literally everything. Since our souls technically lived there, you could say, before being in our bodies, we have the innate ability to know absolute Truth. Our souls just have to recall what they have witnessed in the noumenal world. We can do this by engaging in dialectic or Socratic Dialogue.
When using dialectic, you ask and answer questions in order to "expose false knowledge, reveal the limitations of what we know"(Lee 2017). Dialectic "results in a thorough and logical examination and breakdown of a topic" (Lee 2017). Since dialectic is supposed to help your soul recall absolute Truths from the noumenal world, you should "experience an internal awakening and revolution" in result of participating in dialectic (Lee 2017).
Rhetoric
Socrates especially would not be happy to know that we consider him a rhetorician. Socrates and Plato hated rhetoric, although Plato began to come around to the idea. Many of Plato's texts were attacking rhetoric (such as "Gorgias"), through technically using rhetoric...but they would argue that they did not use rhetoric. Hmm.
Plato wrote in the form of Socratic dialogue using Socrates and other Philosophers, sophists and rhetoricians as characters. Although Plato doesn't appear as a character in these Socratic dialogues, it can be assumed that Socrates represents his views. (Lee 2017) Some of his most famous texts include "Gorgias" and "Allegory of the Cave" (Lee 2017).
Plato worked to undermine rhetoric and those who valued it (especially the Sophists) through his dialogues. He believed that rhetoric, in the ancient Greek sense of the word, was corrupting society and enabling justice (Lee 2017). They didn't like rhetoric because they didn't find it ethical to use it to deceive and manipulate others (Lee 2017). They felt that those who used rhetoric (like the Sophists) used it in such a way that "only produces more shadows to wade through on our quest for Truth" (Lee 2017).
They believed committing a wrong through the use of rhetoric was worse than to be wronged, while "committing a wrong and not paying the price was the worst possible scenario, as committing a wrong infected the soul, causing it to rot and fester, which in tern precluded its ascent toward the noumenal world" (Lee 2017).
Although Plato and Socrates are usually lumped together and viewed as having the same epistemology and beliefs, Plato was more tolerant of rhetoric than Socrates. Plato viewed rhetoric as beneficial only in certain instances. These instances include when rhetoric:
"Enabled on to bring just punishment upon oneself or a loved one." (Lee 2017)
"Maintains the health of the soul." (Lee 2017)
"Allowed one to share a truth already verified through dialectic and recalled from the soul." (Lee 2017)
"Helped to secure and sustain an ideal society." (Lee 2017)