-
When & where was rhetoric born?
467 BCE in Syracuse, Sicily
-
Who were the Sophists ?
• Group of orators, educators, and advocates who developed rhetoric as asystematic study.
-
What did the Sophists teach?
• ARETE (def.): virtue, personal excellence, ability to manage one's affairs intelligently to succeed in public life, qualities of a "natural leader"• Effective public speaking, leadership, persuasive speaking
-
Why were the Sophists controversial?
- They taught for pay.
- They were foreigners.
- They taught cultural relativism.
- Taught a view of truth that emerged from a clash of arguments.
- Built a view of justice on the notion of social agreement or nomos.
-
DIALECTIC (def.):
- method used in Sophist teaching of inventing arguments for andagainst any position.
- oused DISSOI LOGOI (contradictory arguments) based on ENDOXA (widelyheld premises)
- Sophists believed strong arguments could be produced for or against anyclaim & argument met counterargument to yield a better view of truth
- The doctrine KAIROS that one must consider all factors surrounding an issue
-
EDIDEIXIS (def.):
method used by Sophists to compel students to memorize speechesand compose their own speeches based on these modelsoa word describing a speech prepared for a formal occasion.
-
Who is Plato?
Greek philosopher and critic of the Sophists
-
What is the Gorgias?
Plato's dialogue attacking the Sophists and rhetoric
-
What are Plato's arguments in Gorgias?
- The nature of rhetoric, recipes for flattery and trickery
- Sophists aimed only at persuasion about justice though manipulationof public opinion, real understanding of justice demands true knowledge(episteme)
-
Who is Aristotle?
- Greek philosopher and pupil of Platoocritical of rhetoric early in his career but later turned to a more careful studyof the art
- Approached rhetoric pragmatically & systematically
-
What are Aristotle's key teachings concerning truth, argument, & rhetoric?
LOGOS, PATHOS, ETHOS
-
LOGOS (def.)
proofs found in arguments & the evidence backing them, words, or logicof a speech
-
PATHOS (def.):
emotional appeals' ability to affect the judgement of audiences, can bemore powerful than logical appeals
-
ETHOS (def.)
- proof found in good character of the speaker, the persuasive potentialof the speaker's character or personal credibility
- The speaker must exhibit 1) intelligence, 2) virtue & 3) good will toward theaudience
-
Who is Lloyd Bitzer?
- Author of article "The Rhetorical Situation"
- Defined rhetoric as discourse in response to a situation
- Marked a turning point in study of rhetorical theory
- Important and instrumental for the definition of rhetoric
-
EXIGENCE (def.):
- an imperfection marked by urgency; a defect, an obstacle, somethingwaiting to be doneoprovokes action to a certain degree through rhetorical discourse
- A human response
-
RHETORICAL AUDIENCE (def.):
- consists only of those persons who are capable ofbeing influenced by discourse and of being mediators of change
- Only people capable of hearing it with the power to make a change &influence a response
-
CONSTRAINTS (def.):
- set of influences in the situation that have the power toconstrain decision & action needed to modify the exigenceoA limiting force & a compelling force
- The boundaries within which rhetoric is both created & advanced
-
FITTING RESPONSE (def.):
Bitzer argued that the rhetorical situation will lead to theappropriate response.
-
Fundamental claims of feminism & feminist rhetoric
- Main assumptions 1) women's experiences are different from men's and 2)women's voices are not heard in language
- Biological and socialization differences
- denied a voice in culture, access to power, and Unable to pass on meaningsb/c they're excluded from language, rhetoric, and history
-
Invitational Rhetoric
- Does not require or assume intent to persuade on the part of the source
- An invitation to understanding as a means to create a relationship rooted inequality, immanent value, and self-determination.
- Seeks not to persuade but rather to invite the audience to enter the rhetor'sworld and see it as the rhetor does
- Change may result, but change is not the purpose
-
Conversion Rhetoric
- The goal of rhetoric is to convert others to one's views
- A violent act - suggests that by converting you conquer others under the justification that the conquest is good for them and what they wanted
-
What is meant by "gender as rhetorically constructed"?
- Social views of gender are passed on through communication
- Notions of masculinity & femininity are constructed through persuasivecommunication
- Rhetorical movements alter cultural understandings of gender & sculpt socialmeanings of men and women
|
|