Rhetorical Approaches Flashcards
Rhetoric
the discovery of the available means of persuasion
Aristotle’s Three Genres/Situations of Speech: Forensic
- Considers guilt and innocence through examining the past
- Ex. takes place in courtrooms, includes testimony given, open & closing arguments and cross examinations
Aristotle’s Three Genres/Situations of Speech: Deliberative
- Considers future policy, takes place in legislatures, hearings, debates
- Ex: State of the Union Address: central goal is lay out a plan for future federal policy
Aristotle’s Three Genres/Situations of Speech: Epideictic
- Is ceremonial; invokes praise or blame
- Ex: eulogies, commencement address, wedding toasts, Lifetime Achievement Award
The Neo-Aristotelian Method
Reconstructing the context: - What was important about the historical context? - Who was in the audience? The 5 Canons (to analyzing artifacts) 1) Invention 2) Organization/ Arrangement 3) Style 4) Delivery 5) Memory - Assessing the effect (on the audience) - Writing the essay
The Neo-Aristotelian Method: Invention
how a rhetor speaks/ uses language to invent or construct arguments
- Ethos
- Logos
- Pathos
The Neo-Aristotelian Method: Organization
how a rhetor puts arguments together to form a cohesive text
The Neo-Aristotelian Method: Style
how language is used in unique ways
Ex: allusions
The Neo-Aristotelian Method: Delivery
delivery of speech
The Neo-Aristotelian Method: Memory
our memory of the speech
Vernacular Uses of Rhetoric
- Used in both common speech and in technical cues
- Commonly used to mean ‘empty words’ or sophistry (Historical relevance: sophists were traveling teachers of rhetoric)
a) Flowery language with no substance - Associated with public communication that privileges style over substance
a) Words over action
Contemporary Definitions of rhetoric: Political
Kenneth Burke
- “Rhetoric is the manipulation of men’s beliefs for political ends.”
- “Basic function is for the use of words by human agents to form attitudes and induce actions in other human agents.”
Contemporary Definitions of rhetoric: Seeks Change (Lloyd Bitzer)
- “Rhetoric is a mode of altering reality by the creation of discourse which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action.
Contemporary Definitions of rhetoric: Instrumental (Gerard Hauser)
- “Rhetoric is the instrumental use of language. One person engages another person in an exchange of symbols to accomplish some goal.
- “Rhetoric is communication that attempts to coordinate social action. It is explicitly pragmatic.
- “It’s goal is to influence choice on specific matters that require immediate attention.
Contemporary Definitions of rhetoric: Context-or Community Specific (Chaim Perelmen)
- “All language is the language of a community-a community bound by biological ties or by the practice of a common discipline or technique.”
- “The terms used/ their meaning/ their definition, can only be understood by the context of their habits, ways of thoughts, methods, external circumstances, and traditions known to the users of those terms.”
