Editing Gorgias (section)

===''Defense of Palamedes''===
In the ''Defense of Palamedes'' Gorgias describes logos as a positive instrument for creating ethical arguments (McComiskey 38).  The ''Defense'', an oration that deals with issues of morality and political commitment (Consigny 38), defends [[Palamedes (mythology)|Palamedes]] who, in [[Greek mythology]], is credited with the invention of the alphabet, written laws, numbers, armor, and measures and weights (McComiskey 47).

In the speech Palamedes defends himself against the charge of treason.  In Greek mythology, [[Odysseus]] – in order to avoid going to Troy with [[Agamemnon]] and Menelaus to bring Helen back to [[Sparta]] – pretended to have gone mad and began sowing the fields with salt.  When Palamedes threw Odysseus' son, [[Telemachus]], in front of the plow, Odysseus avoided him, demonstrating that he was sane.  Odysseus, who never forgave Palamedes for making him reveal himself, later accused Palamedes of betraying the Greeks to the Trojans.  Soon after, Palamedes was condemned and killed (Jarratt 58).

In this epideictic speech, like the ''Encomium'', Gorgias is concerned with experimenting with how plausible arguments can cause conventional truths to be doubted (Jarratt 59).  Throughout the text, Gorgias presents a method for composing logical (''logos''), ethical (''ethos'') and emotional (''pathos'') arguments from possibility, which are similar to those described by Aristotle in ''Rhetoric''.  These types of arguments about motive and capability presented in the ''Defense'' are later described by Aristotle as forensic ''[[topoi]]''.  Gorgias demonstrates that in order to prove that treason had been committed, a set of possible occurrences also need to be established.  In the ''Defense'' these occurrences are as follows: communication between Palamedes and the enemy, exchange of a pledge in the form of hostages or money, and not being detected by guards or citizens.  In his defense, Palamedes claims that a small sum of money would not have warranted such a large undertaking and reasons that a large sum of money, if indeed such a transaction had been made, would require the aid of many confederates in order for it to be transported.  Palamedes reasons further that such an exchange could neither have occurred at night because the guards would be watching, nor in the day because everyone would be able to see.  Palamedes continues, explaining that if the aforementioned conditions were, in fact, arranged then action would need to follow.  Such action needed to take place either with or without confederates; however, if these confederates were free men then they were free to disclose any information they desired, but if they were slaves there was a risk of their voluntarily accusing to earn freedom, or accusing by force when tortured.  Slaves, Palamedes says, are untrustworthy.  Palamedes goes on to list a variety of possible motives, all of which he proves false.

Through the ''Defense'' Gorgias demonstrates that a motive requires an advantage such as status, wealth, honour, and security, and insists that Palamedes lacked a motive (McComiskey 47–49).