The Rhetorical Tradition of Communication Presentation structure Introduction

The Rhetorical Tradition of Communication

Presentation structure Introduction: Ø Definition Ø Origins and development Ø Alternative perspectives Body: Ø Three means of persuasion Ø Five canons Ø Five devices Ø Examples Conclusion: Ø Summary Ø Rationale Ø Scope and limitation

What is Rhetoric? Rhetoric is the art of discourse that aims to improve the capability of writers or speakers to inform, persuade or motivate particular audiences in specific situations.

Rhetoric in Ancient Greece: The Sophists Many historians credit the ancient city-state of Athens as the birthplace of classical rhetoric. Athenian democracy mobilized every free male into politics Every Athenian man had to be ready to stand in the Assembly and speak to persuade his countrymen to vote for or against a particular piece of legislation. Small schools dedicated to teaching rhetoric began to form. The first of these schools began in the 5 th century B. C. among an itinerant group of teachers called the Sophists.

Rhetoric in Ancient Greece: Aristotle and The Art of Rhetoric The great philosopher Aristotle criticized the Sophists misuse of rhetoric He did see it as a useful tool in helping audiences see and understand truth. In his essay, « The Art of Rhetoric » , Aristotle established a system of understanding and teaching rhetoric. Aristotle defines rhetoric as “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion. ”

Rhetoric in Ancient Rome: Cicero Rhetoric was slow to develop in ancient Rome It started to flourish when that empire conquered Greece and began to be influenced by its traditions. While ancient Romans incorporated many of the rhetorical elements established by the Greeks, they diverged from the Grecian tradition in many ways. For example, orators and writers in ancient Rome depended more on stylistic flourishes, riveting stories, and compelling metaphors and less on logical reasoning than their ancient Greek counterparts.

Plato was a philosopher who was born in Greece somewhere around 428 BCE to a family of the political and social elite. He had the opportunity to study many different subjects from many different teachers until he famously became a disciple of Socrates that was executed a few years later. Plato faithfully continued and adapted his philosophical tradition but never forgot that his teacher died as a result of democratic vote.

Elements Speaker Messag e Key elements of rhetoric: 1. Ethos 2. Pathos 3. Logos Audienc e

Ethos • The credibility of the speaker/writer ‘persuasive appeals that concentrate on the source rather than the message’ (Mc. Guire 1969, p. 200) • • It has an influence on how convincing or believable we find what that person has to say To be more persuasive: The speaker/writer needs to create his own credibility Become an expert on the subject matter Choice of words need to be descriptive and strong Maintain a moral linkage between him and the content

Pathos Putting the audience into a certain frame of mind and state of emotion (recap) The persuasive appeal to an audience’s sense of identity, self interest and their emotions Example:

Logos is seen as the major element in persuasion as it is the logical, rational, evidential foundation to a speaker’s argument. It involves stating your case, ascertaining the facts, testing the evidence as well as constructing arguments. Example: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=8 ULR 68 LTmb w

NOW YOUR TURN TO ANALYSE!

5 CANONS OF RHETORIC Invention (Content, Discovery) Arrangement (Disposition, Organization) Style (Diction, Elocution) Delivery (Voice, Gesture, Presentation) Memory

Invention Stating a topic, showing ideas, arguments, appeals and subject matters Example: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=7 jts 0 SWuk. VQ

Arrangement Distribution of the topics which have been thus conceived with regular order E. g. Introduction, statement of fact, division, proof, refutation, conclusion

Style The adaptation of suitable words and sentences, giving a more artful expression of ideas

Memory The lasting sense in the mind of the matters and words corresponding to the reception of these topics Memory as psychology Memory as databases Memory as "memorableness”

Delivery Latin: Pronuntiatio or actio Greek: Hypokrisis: voice, gesture, expression, orthography, presentation, or medium Regulating of the voice and body in a manner suitable to dignity of the subjects spoken of and of the language employed

Example – Lynx Ad http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=j. JXv. Dagf 8 YA

5 DEVICES Inclusive language Repetition Metaphor Imagery Historical Reference

Example – Sony Ad

SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF RHETORIC Scope: written and spoken discourse - Plato: “A major function of rhetoric is to generate, create and discover knowledge” (Essay on Classical Rhetoric and Modern Discourse, p. 19). - Aristotle: Rhetoric is a “counterpart” of dialectic (The SAGE Handbook of Rhetorical Studies, p. xix). - Quintilian: the art of speaking well. (The SAGE Handbook of Rhetorical Studies, p. xix) - Richards: the study of misunderstanding. - Burke: “Whenever there is persuasion, there is rhetoric. And wherever there is ‘meaning’, there is ‘persuasion’. ” (Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric: 30 th Anniversary Edition, p. 192)

SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF RHETORIC Limitation: - Classical perspective: + Garsten (2006, p. 118): Aristotle avoids the examination of ethical concerns and instead "restricted the scope" of rhetoric's competence, putting rhetoric in its place within the political structure as a function of deliberation. (Tokarz 2012) - Modern perspective: + Hauser (2002, p. 2 -3): Rhetoric, as an area of study, is concerned with how humans use symbols, especially language, to reach agreement that permits coordinated effort of some sort…. It is not communication for communication’s sake; rhetorical communication, at least implicitly and often explicitly, attempts to coordinate social action. (Tokarz 2012) + Kenneth Burke (1969, p. 43): Rhetoric is rooted in an essential function of language itself, a function that is wholly realistic and continually born anew: the use of language as a symbolic means of inducing cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols. (Tokarz 2012)

Rhetorical question 1. WHAT IS “RHETORICAL QUESTION”? 2. WHY ASKING RHETORICAL QUESTIONS? 3. WHEN ASKING RHETORICAL QUESTIONS? 4. HOW MANY TYPES/SYNTAXES OF RHETORICAL QUESTIONS?

WHAT IS “RHETORICAL QUESTION”? - The “syntactic question that is regularly understood to be doing something other than asking questions” (Koshik 2005, p. 2). WHEN ASKING RHETORICAL QUESTIONS? - Rhetorical situations: “To enable the participants through the meaning of dialogue to go beyond sensory experiences of the observable physical world and glimpse those universal that adhere to an ideal form” (Essay on Classical Rhetoric and Modern Discourse, p. 21). Give a “vision of the truth” (Essay on Classical Rhetoric and

WHY DO WE USE RHETORICAL QUESTIONS? In study: To emphasize a point, to reinforce an idea or statement (Blosser 2000, p. 3). E. g: Foucault says in the clinic: “The individual in question was not so much a sick person as the endlessly reproducible pathological fact to be found in all patients suffering in a similar way” (Segal 2005, p. 27). In conversation: keep the participant in track of the conversation. In mass media: to understand the contents more meaningful.

HOW MANY TYPES/SYNTAXES OF “RHETORICAL QUESTION”? Yes/No reserved polarity questions: the “assumption” of the speakers. Wh- reserved polarity questions: an expectation for a certain answer. (viewed Koshik 2005, p. 11 & 40)

TO CONCLUDE 1. “Rhetoric”: - A tradition communication - An act of persuasion - Originated in ancient Greece: + Plato (429 -347 BC): “art of enchanting the soul”. (Eidenmuller 2014) + Aristotle (384 -322 BC): “the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion”. (Eidenmuller 2014) + Cicero (106 -43 BC): “speech designed to persuade”. (Eidenmuller 2014) 2. 3 - 5 Practice: - 3 Key Elements: Ethos, Logos, Pathos - 5 Canons: Invention, Arrangement, Style, Delivery, Memory - 5 Devices: Inclusive language, Repetition, Metaphor, Imagery, Historical Reference.

DID WE EFFECTIVELY EDUCATE YOU ON THE RHETORIC TRADITION? AND ANY QUESTIONS?

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