Abstract

Schlondorff's "Diplomacy" deals with one crucial philosophical issue of the twentieth century: namely, the corruption of language due to totalitarianisms and the need to give back to words their true meaning. Ranging from Aristotle's Rhetoric and to Dutch humanist Petrus Bertius's writings, from the myth of Orpheus to Kafka's stories, this paper aims to show that diplomacy is not merely persuasion by means of nicely related words: first and foremost, it is a quest for truth, critical thinking, an integral part of citizens' education, something without which society would be wrecked.