Aristotle's Use Of Rhetoric

Scholars of rhetoric consider the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, one of the great contributors to our present understanding of this art which, since its early origins and until present, has been a controversial field of study because of its association with persuasion and influence. However, an examination of ancient rhetoric and its development by the Sophists and then a study on Aristotle’s theory on rhetoric and how he concluded his findings direct our attention to whether this Greek philosopher only included in his theory what he described as inadequate and non-fundamental Sophistic teachings, or actually built up his theory on their techniques, long bashed and overlooked. In this essay, I consider Aristotle’s rhetoric is an evolution

The term Rhetoric can be defined as “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” In order to use rhetoric devices correctly you need; ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is an appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader. Pathos is an appeal to emotion, and is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response. Logos is an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason.

Aristotle believed Rhetoric’s main purpose was to persuade an audience. (Rorty 1996). Aristotle claimed that there were 3 main appeals that the persuader would use in order to convince the audience that their view is the right one, or that their product is the best. Aristotle would argue that these arguments all have a basis in “common sense”, meaning that the persuader can come to a conclusion based off of the audiences shared, and agreed upon knowledge (Gregoric 2007). Logos, Ethos, and Pathos are the three type of appeals Aristotle uses to describe the rhetoric of persuasion.

Many successful people politicians, salesmen, even lawyers have mastered this tool. Rhetoric has assisted in the development of laws, complex societies, and codes. “Everyone of America’s founders studied rhetoric, and they used its principles in writing the Constitution”(Heinrichs Pg 4). An example of rhetoric being used correctly is a presidential candidate trying to persuade voters to vote for him. The goal the candidate is to “seduce” the voters into thinking that voting for him is the best option for the country.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, rhetoric is defined as “the art of speaking as a means of communication or persuasion”. In other words, rhetoric is the way a speaker convinces an audience to approach a given issue from a preferred perspective. Speakers may utilize the following appeals to win the audience's favor: ethos, logos, and pathos. Ethos refers to the speakers incorporation of the audience’s ethical responsibilities. A speaker also uses ethos to establish credibility. Logos is the speaker’s use of logic and reasoning by a way of factual evidence. Lastly, a speaker may use pathos to engage the audience's emotions. Dr. Martin Luther

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, whether it is written or spoken. Rhetoric has been around for centuries. Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, believed that there were three basic ways to persuade an audience: ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is the appeal to ethics: how the speaker portrays himself/herself to the audience. Can the audience trust him/her?

Rhetoric is defined as the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques. It is used to persuade an audience. According to Michael Austin in Reading the World: Ideas That Matter (661,664), Aristotle has three elements to persuasion: ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos is not just appealing to ethics, but it is establishing the speaker’s credibility and character. Pathos is an appeal to emotion to persuade an audience of something. Logos is an appeal to logic with things like facts and research. Any speaker that wants to persuade an audience to believe something should have an equal amount of all three elements. In the three videos, the speakers use

Rhetoric is the idea of persuasion. Its basic idea is to influence someone to believe in our idea or help understand the message we are trying to deliver. In our daily life we use rhetoric in many places. This includes verbal communication as well as non-verbal communication such as body language and facial expression. In the workplace it can be used to communicate with people effectively.

Rhetoric seems like a big word but the meaning is simple- persuasion. In the book Julius Caesar, Antony and Brutus, two major characters, are fantastic at persuading the Roman citizens. When one is reading the story, they might think that both have equal amounts but when you look closer, Antony has the better rhetoric strategies. In just a few short sentences, Antony convinced the people to believe that Caesar needed revenge even though he never came out and told them that. Just a couple of minutes ago, the citizens were on Brutus’s side and thought that Caesar needed to go.

Rhetoric is something that at least everyone uses in his or her everyday life. Rhetoric can be used in the form of social media, politics and even making the decision on how you are going to communicate. In the Youtube video titled In Defense of Rhetoric: No Longer Just for Liars, Professor, Dr. Ann George states rhetoric as how we persuade each other or how we make arguments. George believes we can do this by the words we use, the gestures we make and the facial appeals that can break down the language and encourage the argument one might be making.

According to Socrates, rhetoricians misuse their skill in persuasive speech. Instead of using rhetoric to improve the condition of their audiences’ souls, they use it as a means to achieve their own goals. They charge their audiences, and teach people how to He says that they “are servants, satisfiers of appetites! They have no understanding whatever of anything that’s admirable and good” (518c). Rhetoricians pander to their audiences, control their beliefs, and take advantage of people for wealth and power.

Rhetoric, as a form of communication arouses questions both in the traditional and modern societies. The questions are repetitive in communication and aids in understanding its nature. According to Socrates, rhetoric is meant to seduce the mind, and it is practiced in courts in form of debate and even privately i houses. Socrates exhibits his art of rhetoric in his play of Phaedrus. According to Socrates, oratory is the art of deception the soul, and therefore any person who would be an orator or a philosopher learn the differences of human souls.

Rhetoric, defined as the “art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing” , came into being centuries ago. The Greeks were the first to acknowledge rhetoric as an art. They described rhetoric, Rhétoriké, as “the civic art of public speaking” . Some famous ancient philosophers have given their opinions on this topic. Aristotle argued in his book The Art of Rhetoric, that rhetoric is ‘the art of a good speech’. Conversely, Socrates argued that rhetoric was ‘’not an art but an artless practise’’ . The discussion whether rhetoric can be considered as an art form rather than a mere technique is still relevant nowadays. In this essay, rhetoric is considered as an art form which can develop and adapt to our contemporary society.

Rhetoric can be traced back to the 19th century in ancient Greek and it was was utilized for the purpose of teaching public speaking. Athens is seen as the birthplace of rhetoric, every free man was already modeled in the form of democracy to be lured into politics, a mans triumph was, intact based on how good he was in the art of public speaking, so he would be able to speak up for or against the legislation. In small schools, rhetoric was then taught as a subject, so that every little boy would grow up, learning more and giving more skill to be an effective rhetoric, and the job of rhetoric

I do agree with Socrates that rhetoric is mostly misused and dangerous for both the speaker and the listener. I believe rhetoric is dangerous for the speaker because that person maybe don’t understand how much power they hold over someone. It can be dangerous for the listener for the simply fact is the information they’ve been give may or may not be correct. I think past experience motivated Socrates feel this way about the usage of rhetoric.