Exam 1 Flashcards
Learn It
Booth Definition of Rhetoric
Rhetoric holds domain over all verbal pursuits
Lanham Definition of Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the Economics of Attention
Kennedy Definition of Rhetoric
The energy inherent in emotion and thought transmitted through the system of signs
Rhetorical Discourse
The art of communication through rhetoric has 6 characteristics
Rhetorical Theory
The systematic presentation of the principles of rhetoric, descriptions of rhetoric’s various functions, and explanations of how rhetoric achieves its goal
Qualities definiing the type of discourse known as rhetoric
Planned; adapted to an audience; shaped by human motives; responsive to situation; persuasion seeking; concerned with contingent issues
Social functions of the art of rhetoric
Ideas are tested; advocacy is assisted; power is distributed; facts are discovered; knowledge is shaped; Communities are built
Three traditions in rhetoric
Magical - Gorgias
Practical - Protagoras
Sociopolitical - Isocrates
Why were the sophists contriversial in athens
The sophists claimed to be able to teach virtue and truth but many doubted their comprehension of justice. Sophist pupils seemed free from the rules and convention of the polis
When were the sophists active in Greece
322-384 BC
What beliefs and practices characterized the sophists?
The sophists believed that law was conventional and truth was relative, they also believe their practices of persuasion should be open for anybody to learn, seeing persuasion as the center of education
What specific emphases did Gorgias,Protagoras, and Isocrates bring to the teaching and practice of rhetoric?
Gorgias: magical, skeptical philosophy, magician
Psycologogas: Leads human mind/Soul, Emotions, Sound, Power
Isocrates:Political/ Psychological, Writer, Pan- Hellenism, Teacher, Goal Orientated
Protagoras: Pragmatic, Kairos, Teacher, Philosophy/ Theory, Logos, Anti-logos, Critical theory, Always questioning things, Study counter arguments
How were rhetoric and magic similar to the Greeks?
Gorgias considered rhetor to be a psychagogos(leader of souls). Poetry was thought to have supernatural origins. Rhetoric (according to Gorgias) was verbal magic capable of exerting an almost supernatural influence on an audience. `
Who was Aspasia, and why was she significant in the history of rhetoric?
A female rhetorician of the fifth century BCE, “known through a hand full of references” hailed from Miletus, a Greek colony along the coast of modern-day Turkey, Speechwriter , conversationalist, and teacher of rhetoric. Invented so-called Socratic method.
Who was Aspasia, and why significant in the history of rhetoric?
A female rhetorician of the fifth century BCE, “known through a hand full of references” hailed from Miletus, a Greek colony along the coast of modern-day Turkey, Speechwriter , conversationalist, and teacher of rhetoric. Invented so-called Socratic method.
Nomos
: Social custom or convention. Rule by agreement among the citizenry, ex: cops
Physis
law according to nature, strong dominating the weak
Techne
Greek term for an art or a discipline like medicine or navigating a boat. Plato claimed rhetoric did not belong in this category
What distinguishes a techne?
- good outcome/good result/ 2. Painful Process 3. Class of objects 4.True knowledge
Logos
Study of arguments/ One of Aristotles three artistic proofs the other two being pathos (the study of emotion) and ethos (the study character) An account or a clear and logical explation. Also a word of argument
Arete
Teaching/an ability to manage one’s personal affairs in an intelligent manner and to suceed in public life. Excellence. Natural leadership ability. Virtue. A component of eros