Basic terms in Aristotelian Rhetorical Criticism Basic terms

Basic terms in Aristotelian Rhetorical Criticism

Basic terms in Aristotelian Rhetorical Criticism Pisteis: Faith, Trust, Proof

Ethos: The Persuasiveness of Character

Ethos The term originally meant “way of life” or “dwelling/abode” and shares the root of the words ethics/ethical and ethnic.

Ethos The term originally meant “way of life” or “dwelling/abode” and shares the root of the words ethics/ethical and ethnic. Aristotle says that among all the elements of persuasion, it is the ethos of the speaker that tends to be the most influential.

Ethos Look for demonstrations of the speaker’s

Ethos Look for demonstrations of the speaker’s • Good judgment: Do they gasp things appropriately, make good decisions, are they wise and balanced and intelligent?

Ethos Look for demonstrations of the speaker’s • Good judgment: Do they gasp things appropriately, make good decisions, are they wise and balanced and intelligent? • Good will: Do they have the audience’s best interest in mind?

Ethos Look for demonstrations of the speaker’s • Good judgment: Do they gasp things appropriately, make good decisions, are they wise and balanced and intelligent? • Good will: Do they have the audience’s best interest in mind? • Virtue: Do they have the qualities we wish to emulate?

Ethos Note: From a philosophical or theological worldview, there might be one correct way of deciding ethical matters and one ideal ethnic way of life.

Ethos Note: However, in a rhetorical worldview, there is much more indeterminacy and uncertainty:

Ethos Note: However, in a rhetorical worldview, there is much more indeterminacy and uncertainty: One’s identity is an accomplishment of language and action, not an innate truth shining through.

Ethos Turning to King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail, ” in what various ways does the author cultivate a sense of ethos and make his character an element of persuasion?

Pathos: The Persuasiveness of Emotions

Pathos • The term originally meant something more like “mood, ” rather than “emotion. ”

Pathos Note:

Pathos Note: From a philosophic or scientific worldview, emotions are something we have “inside; ” they tend to be viewed as private, biologically rooted, and relatively irrational, uncontrollable, or unpredictable.

Pathos Note: However, from a rhetorical worldview, pathos (moods) are far more public, predicable, and reasonable (in a sense).

Pathos Note: However, from a rhetorical worldview, pathos (moods) are far more public, predicable, and reasonable (in a sense). Moreover, they are not “inside” us…rather we are inside them

Pathos Note: However, from a rhetorical worldview, pathos (moods) are far more public, predicable, and reasonable (in a sense). Moreover, they are not “inside” us…rather we are inside them As when we say we are “in” a mood or that someone got us “out” of a funk.

Pathos Look for elements in a speech that seek to put the audience in a “mood. ” • Fear-Confidence • Love-Hate • Anger-Calm • Shame-Pride

Pathos Look for elements that seek to put the audience in a “mood” • Anxiety, depression, despair, dread, duty, embarrassment, faith, friendship, frustration, gratitude, guilt, hope, indifference, innocence, joy, pride, regret and remorse, respect, sadness, self-respect, vanity, worship

Pathos Turning to Dr. King’s “Letter, ” where do you see him cultivating a mood in the audience. How does he want the reader to feel and why?

Logos: The persuasiveness of good Reasons

Logos The word originally meant “gathering” in a way that allows what is there to stand out.

Logos The word originally meant “gathering” in a way that allows what is there to stand out. We find logos used as a suffix (e. g. psychology, anthropology, biology).

Logos The word originally meant “gathering” in a way that allows what is there to stand out. We find logos used as a suffix (e. g. psychology, anthropology, biology) And it is the word for “Word” in the Christian tradition.

Argument • Argument is an attempt to inspire judgment in an another about something uncertain using reasons.

Argument is an approach to decisionmaking

Logos Note: In a philosophic or theological worldview, logos deals with what is logically necessary or certain or indubitable.

Logos Note: However, in a rhetorical worldview, we have no access to what is necessary and undeniable.

Logos Note: However, in a rhetorical worldview, we have no access to what is necessary and undeniable, so logos/argument is about the probable and possible—and attempts to bridge the gap of uncertainty using reasons that draw on what the audience is likely to believe

Parts of an Argument • Claim: A statement about something uncertain

Parts of an Argument • Claim: A statement about something uncertain. • Reason: Why we should agree

Parts of an Argument • Claim: A statement about something uncertain. • Reason: Why we should agree • Evidence: What facts support the reason

Parts of an Argument • Claim: A statement about something uncertain. • Reason: Why we should agree • Evidence: What facts support the reason ------------------------------- • Warrant: Underlying assumptions that make the claim/support plausible

Logos Turning to King’s “Letter, ” where do you see the author making arguments—providing the audience good reasons to make the leap from what they know and believe to what he wishes them to do?

In Sum Aristotle’s three pisteis help explain the diverse ways of producing persuasive texts, given a rhetorical worldview in which things are uncertain, audiences are response-able, language matters, and judgment is urgent.

In Sum Aristotle’s three pisteis help explain the diverse ways of producing persuasive texts, given a rhetorical worldview in which things are uncertain, audiences are response-able, language matters, and judgment is urgent. But note: it is limited in its focus on single spoken/written texts by singular (often powerful) speakers, making explicit reasoned appeals, that conform to social standards about appropriateness.

In Sum SO, to better grasp the diversity of contemporary 20 th and 21 st century rhetoric, we will need to expand the Aristotelian matrix to include: multiple texts, multiple speakers, nonverbal elements (e. g. visual rhetoric), unintended meanings, and the voices of those not already recognized by the culture in which they speak.