Natural Talent?

The ancient Greeks often mentioned the question of natural talent. Not only in sports as is often discussed today, but also in education. One reason I think the Greeks discussed this is ethics. Aristotle believes that people are born with a certain disposition and that virtue is in your genetics. He also forwarded the idea that education and the ability to use rhetoric should we reserved for the aristocracy. Isocrates also takes this view. As he explains in Against the Sophists, “But it cannot fully fashion men who are without natural aptitude into good debaters or writers” (Isocrates 173). Isocrates is explaining that Rhetoric is a gimmick, it can’t actually make you smarter, but merely allow you to speak around people. He thinks that people who aren’t already naturally talented orators or writers can never be great no matter what. I think today we don’t think of smarts as being so much of a natural gift because there isn’t really a calling for philosophers anymore. We recognize that people who aren’t the most naturally smart can get a good education and apply it and use it in a job to be successful.