Introduction to Rhetoric

1
Introduction to Rhetoric
2
Definition

• 1. a. The art of using language so as to persuade
  or influence others the body of rules to be
  observed by a speaker or writer in order that he
  may express himself with eloquence. In the Middle
  Ages rhetoric was reckoned one of the seven
  liberal arts, being comprised, with grammar and
  logic, in the trivium.
• 2. See the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)

3
History

• The Agora was the heart of ancient Athens, the
  focus of political, commercial, administrative
  and social activity, the religious and cultural
  center, and the seat of justice.

4
Value Power

• Tool of Freedom and Oppression (e.g. propaganda)
• Violence Failure of Argument

5
Balance
Irenic (Harmony)
Agreement
Expression
Agon (Conflict)
6
Aims of Rhetoric

• Solve problems in the public domain
• Forensic (past)
• Ceremonial or Epideictic (present)
• Deliberative (future)

7
Stasis

• Five points of static beliefs or claims
• Existence
• Definition
• Value
• Cause
• Proposal

8
Appeals

• Ethos Character
• Pathos Heart (Values), Emotion, Imagination,
  Sensation
• Logos Logic, Rational, Empiricism

9
Structure of Argument
Problem
Existence
Ethos
Definition
Value
Pathos
Cause
Logos
Solution
Proposal
10
Conclusions

• Not All or Nothing
• Responsibility to the facts
• Public argument under the guidelines of academic
  argument
• Argument as a form of exploration (we dont know
  where were going)
• Acceptance of ambiguity (concessions must be made)