Initially, the two men discuss "love", based on a speech written by Lysias. This then evolves into a discussion of the art of rhetoric, moving in and out of focus on the initial topic of love.
However, because I fear that "Love" and "Public Speaking" may not be sufficient, a more detailed list follows, categorized by the major topics under which they fall:
1) Love
-The nature of love, as one cannot advise upon a thing, without knowing that thing.
-Lovers vs. Non-lovers, and the merits and detriments of both. I prefer to think of these two archetypes as "Thinkers" and "Feelers" to avoid immediate negative connotations, and because the "Love" of which Socrates and Phaedrus speak is not the same as our modern sense of the word.
-Rational vs. Irrational desire. Socrates defines love as irrational desire.
-Wolves love lambs as lovers love their loves.
-Whatever we say to speak against the lover, can be spoken in favor of the non-lover
-Love can be mean, or as Jay Guiles put it "Love Stinks"
-They discuss the four kinds of madness, and that love is noble madness.
2) Rhetoric
-A speech may be more well-received if the speaker is passionate about the topic
-A man's opinions are the result of the aggregate opinion of all that he has learned. He uses the ideas of those who have come before him to synthesize new opinions.
-A speaker may repeat himself many times and many ways as a way of showing off his intellect, or to disquiet any possible contention.
-Passion about a subject can fuel a speaker's words
-By challenging someone to make a better speech than a bad one, we ourselves will make bad speech
-We cater our rhetoric to the intended audience
-Laws are a manner in which the politicians praise themselves and their intellect
-There's no disgrace in writing, only in writing badly.
-The rules of writing and speech
--Is the speaker required to know what he's talking about?
---His ignorance can turn good into evil
-Rhetoric is not the sole domain of the politician, it is present in everyday life
-Those who wish to deceive must know the truth, so that he knows what truth looks like and can thus create the illusion of truth
-A speaker needs to acknowledge the things upon which everyone is agreed, so that he may specifically address that which is disagreed. In knowing that, he is more likely to be successful in addressing the things upon which we disagree
-Discourse should have structure, follow a logical order from beginning to end
-The separation of the specific, and the general
-After defining the thing about which you will be speaking, speaking to that subject, you must summarize your arguments at the end for your audience
-The power of the art of rhetoric
-You must analyze as you go, otherwise you've no idea what effect you have
-Propriety and improprieties of writing
-The written word cannot adapt itself to each viewer, and is laid bare the same for all to see
-Know your audience
-Anyone who bases their work upon truth can be called "philosopher"
-We have no visible image of wisdom on earth, we only see beauty.
-Our experiences are never as powerful as when we experienced them. We can renew the power of those experiences by experiencing something more powerful
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