Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students Chapter 1-
9
CH1: Ancient Rhetorics
Rhetorics in ancient times:
- Make decision, revolves disputes, important issues
- =study of citizenship
- Moral, political questions
- Differences in opinion inevitable; use rhetorics to judge
Importance of rhetoric:
- Larger scale – negotiations international relations
- Nowadays: disagreement=undesirable (tied to identity)
BUT: helps resolve issues, better than violence
- Bad name rhetorics is due to “debate” shows
- Actual rhetorical engagement
- Make deliberation and determining the best action possible
- Recognize when bad argument are made, inappropriate choices
presented
- Become better citizens
Analogy: a comparison between things that have similar features, often used to
help explain a principle or idea
Invention: finding and displaying the available arguments on any issue
Ancient rhetorics:
- 6th-5th-4th century BCE – new government form: Democratia
- Met in assembly to make decision, judges is trials
- Isegoria: right to speak in Assembly
- 4th BCE: ‘ rhetor’: someone introducing resolution into assembly
5th century: “ expert on politics “One skilled in public speaking”
Ancient VS Contemporary
Contemporary Ancient
- Facts, testimonies more - prefer argument from
valued language and community
- opinion dismissed beliefs (invention)
- value opinions as
communal source of
knowledge
- opinion come from
, community
- facts, testimonies are
not straight-forward
Both agree that:
- language “does stuff”
- importance timing, circumstance
Extrinsic and intrinsic proof
- Atechnoi: “without art or skill”, extrinsic (outside rhetorics), need
not to be invented e.g. facts, testimony
- Facts are irrelevant without a network of interpretation
- Entechnois: “embodied in the art”, intrinsic proofs, invented and
discovered by rhetorics
- intrinsic proofs: arguments invented/discovered by rhetor
- invention: division of rhetoric that investigates possible means by
which proofs can be discovered
- heuristic: “ an aid to discovery”
- proposition: any arguable statement put forward
- proof: statement(s) used to persuade an audience to accept
proposition
- Ethos: depend on rhetor’s character
- Pathos: appeal to emotions audience
- Logos: argument found in issue itself
Opinions
- Cotemporary – opinions belong to individuals, part of identity
- Ancients did value opinion
o Not just “just your opinion”
o Opinions ARE important
o Opinions CAN be changed
Opinions are shared by community
Hard to change, but can be done
Opinions come from those we respect
Rhetorical reason is valid for many fields (including science)
Ideology and commonplaces
Ideology: networks of interpretation
- Can be religious, political
- Made up of commonplaces: beliefs “commonly held” by a
community
- Issues can be contested commonplaces
9
CH1: Ancient Rhetorics
Rhetorics in ancient times:
- Make decision, revolves disputes, important issues
- =study of citizenship
- Moral, political questions
- Differences in opinion inevitable; use rhetorics to judge
Importance of rhetoric:
- Larger scale – negotiations international relations
- Nowadays: disagreement=undesirable (tied to identity)
BUT: helps resolve issues, better than violence
- Bad name rhetorics is due to “debate” shows
- Actual rhetorical engagement
- Make deliberation and determining the best action possible
- Recognize when bad argument are made, inappropriate choices
presented
- Become better citizens
Analogy: a comparison between things that have similar features, often used to
help explain a principle or idea
Invention: finding and displaying the available arguments on any issue
Ancient rhetorics:
- 6th-5th-4th century BCE – new government form: Democratia
- Met in assembly to make decision, judges is trials
- Isegoria: right to speak in Assembly
- 4th BCE: ‘ rhetor’: someone introducing resolution into assembly
5th century: “ expert on politics “One skilled in public speaking”
Ancient VS Contemporary
Contemporary Ancient
- Facts, testimonies more - prefer argument from
valued language and community
- opinion dismissed beliefs (invention)
- value opinions as
communal source of
knowledge
- opinion come from
, community
- facts, testimonies are
not straight-forward
Both agree that:
- language “does stuff”
- importance timing, circumstance
Extrinsic and intrinsic proof
- Atechnoi: “without art or skill”, extrinsic (outside rhetorics), need
not to be invented e.g. facts, testimony
- Facts are irrelevant without a network of interpretation
- Entechnois: “embodied in the art”, intrinsic proofs, invented and
discovered by rhetorics
- intrinsic proofs: arguments invented/discovered by rhetor
- invention: division of rhetoric that investigates possible means by
which proofs can be discovered
- heuristic: “ an aid to discovery”
- proposition: any arguable statement put forward
- proof: statement(s) used to persuade an audience to accept
proposition
- Ethos: depend on rhetor’s character
- Pathos: appeal to emotions audience
- Logos: argument found in issue itself
Opinions
- Cotemporary – opinions belong to individuals, part of identity
- Ancients did value opinion
o Not just “just your opinion”
o Opinions ARE important
o Opinions CAN be changed
Opinions are shared by community
Hard to change, but can be done
Opinions come from those we respect
Rhetorical reason is valid for many fields (including science)
Ideology and commonplaces
Ideology: networks of interpretation
- Can be religious, political
- Made up of commonplaces: beliefs “commonly held” by a
community
- Issues can be contested commonplaces
