Reading Assignment

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PU~C'N~TO~~TH~R A D~F'N'T'ONOF RH~TOR'C

That Speech was fiery RHETORIC with nothing of

substance ...

me RHeTORIC WAS FLYING IN WAS!-lING.TON

TO()AY AS me PReSIPeNT" •

rs ANYONE LISTEN'H~--

··TOWHAT ANYONE'S ACTUALLY SA'1INQ1!

Issue 1 • Why Rhetoric?

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IN TH€ ORIGINAL GR€€K, TH€ WORD

RHeTORIC COM€S FROM TH€

V6R6 eeo. I'TO SAY."

BUT RH6TORIC IS MUCHMOR6 THAN JUST

TAL"-.

RH6TORIC IS A60UT TH€ SPAC€S IN WHICH W6 WRIT6, CONV6RS6, D€6AT€, AND SHAR6

ID€AS.

Issue 1 • Why ~etoric?

R~ANIMATINGANCI~NT VI~WSOF RH~TORIC MANY COMMONLY H€L(> N€GATIV€ ID€AS ASOUT RH€TORIC CAN

S6 TRAC6D TO TH6 ANCI€NT GR€6K PHILOSOPH6R f'LATO.

H€ S€LI€V€D THAT T€ACH€RS LlK€ us WHO TAUGHT RH€TORIC W€R€

INSTRUCTING TH€IR STUD€NTS TO D6C€IV€

OTH€RS RATH€R THAN TO S€TT€R TH€MSaV€S.

IF S€RIOUS DISCUSSION IS LlK€ GYMNASTICS, TH€N RH€TORIC IS LlK€ COSM~T'CS.

PLATO (427-347 BCE) ANCI~NT GR~€K PHILOSOPH€R, STUD~NT OF SOCRAT€S, AND FOUND€R OF TH€ ATH~NIAN ACAD~MY, AN IMPORTANT ~ARLY SCHOOL oF THOUGHT.

A.S FAR AS PLATO WAS CONC€RN€D, RH€TORIC WAS AN €MPTY, UNWHOL€SOM6 DIsTRACTION THAT TOOK ATT€NTION AWAY FROM

IMPORTANT PHILOSOPHICAL AND CIVIC MATT€RS.

INDULGING TH€ POPULATION'S APP€TIT€ FOR RH€TORIC IS AS SAD AS S€LLtNG PASTR'~S INST€AD OF DISP€NSING M~[)'C'N~.

PLATO ALSO THOUGHT THAT VIVID M€DIA €XP€RI6NC6S, SUCH AS ANCI6NT GR€6K TRAG€DI€S

THAT SHOW€D €XPLICIT S€X At-(> VIOL€NC€, WOULD HAV€

A SAD INFLU€NC€ ON YOUNG P€OPL€.

A.LL P06TS AND PLAYWRIGHTS SHOULD S6 &AN'SH~[)!

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PLATO FaT THAT TH£ YOUNG SHOULD 86 PROT£CT£D FROM AMBIGUOUS MORAL M£SSAG£S.

PLATO WASN'T JUST WORRI6D ABOUT CHILDR6N. H6 86L16V€D THAT TH6 INV6NTION OF WRITING IN Ul6 ANCI6NT WORLD ALLOW6D ADULTS TO LI€ ABOUT TH€ TRUTH, PR6T6ND TO 66 SOM60N6 TH6Y W6R6 NOT, OR FORG6T TH€ PAST AND TRADITION.

JUST AS P€OPL€ WORRY TODAY ABOUT MANY OF TH6 6FF6CTS of T€CHNOLOGY ON WRITING,

PLATO WORRI6D A80UT TH6 6FF6CT OF WRITING ON OUR

A61L1TY TO SP6AK TH6 TRUTH.

PR6T6NDING TO 66 CRIMINALS CAUS6S CHILDR6N TO GROW UP TO 66 CRIMINALS IN R6AL LlF6.

6V6RYON€ KNOWS THAT.

THINGS W6R6 SUR€ A LOT 66TT6R

B6FOR6 W6 HAD WRITIN~!

Issue 1 • Wh~Rhetoric?

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ARISTOTLE (384-322 BeE) ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHER (AND STUDENT of PLATO) WHOSE THINKING CONTRIBUTED MUCH TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN

EMPIRICAL AND SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT.

ARISTOTLE THOUGHT THAT PLAYSCOULD SERVE

AN EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE BY €NCOURAGING GR€€K CITIZENS TO DEVELOP THEIR CAPACITIES

FOR PITY AND FEAR.

BY S€€ING THE CONSEQUENCES OF SEXUAL AND VIOLENT CRIMES

THAT WERE COMMITTED BY ACTORS ON STAGE, SPECTATORS COULD LEARN NOT TO IMITAT€

&AD ACTIONS.

ARISTOTL~DISA<~~eD WITH HIST~ACH~R A60UT

RH~TORIC.

WHIL~PLATOTHOUGHTTHAT RH~ORIC WASPARTOF A FALS~

WORLD OF APPEARANC~S,ARISTOTLE CONSID~R~DRH~TORIC TO 6~ ONE OF

TH~ FOUNDATIONSOF ~DUCATION.

EV~N NOW, UNDERSTANDING RH~TORIC-- - 60TH AS A

CONcePT AND AS AN ACTIVITV, LlK~ TALKINGAND

VOTING--

--IS C~NTRAL TO PARTICIPATIONIN THE D~MOCRATIC

PROC~SS.

THIS D~VELOPM~NTOF RH~TORIC COINCIDES WITH TH~ 61RTHOF DeMOCRACV IN ANCI~NT GR~~C~.

Issue 1 • Why RhetoriC?

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SfTTINq RHfTORICAl CONCfPTS lOOSf ON THf WORLD

IN THe ART OF RHeTORIC,

ARISTOTLE SAYS THAT TO BE EFFECTIVE, A COMMUNICATOR HAS TO TAKE TI-lREG CONCEPTS INTO CONSIDERATION: ETHOS

efAticd, ~

ST~~NGE WORDS, BUT YOU CAN HEAR THEIR

GNGLISH COUNTERPARTS QUITE CLEARLY ...

ATWOS ~~

GOS ~

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Wf, TRUST Cf,RTAIN KINDS OF Pf,OPLf, MORf, THAN OTHf,RS -- Sf,CAUSf, THf,Y HAVf, f,)(Pf,RTISf" OR Sf,CAUSf,

THf,Y ARf, W€LL INFORMf,D ASOUT THf, SUSJf,CT AT HAND.

APrf,ALS TO PATHOS SURROUND US, PARTICULARLY IN VISUAL ARGUMf,NTS SUCH AS ADVf,RTISf,Mf,NTS AND MANY ONLlNf, VIDf,OS.

SOMf, ARGUMf,NTS MAKf, MORf, lOqlCAl Sf,NSf, THAN OTHf,RS, AND MANY CONSID€R LOGOS TO Sf, CRITICAL IN

THf, Df,V€LOPM€NT AND DISSf,MINATION OF IDf,AS AND VALUf,S.

Issue 1 • Why Rhetoric?

L~ARNINGTO R~COGNIZ~ TH~S~CONC~PTSWILL H~LP

YOU UND~RSTANDOTH~R P~OPL6'SARGUM~NTS.

ONUN~ PROFIL~SALLOW US~RSTO CR~AT~

RICH, ~NGAGING,AND SOM~TIM~SSATIRIC S€LF-PORTRAITS.

Jon~th~f\isthinkir.*about getting 6 new computer. Pl'~to:PH! It would just be the shadow of the CONC~fI of a eornputer, anyw81:\.

Aristotle: Ooh, but the hew ~qs2.&'~are SO AW£'$DME.'

r,p 1Ol$ll~!;

FOR INSTANC~,IF JONATHAN, AS A PROF~SSOROF 6NGLlSH, HAS A PROFIL~RIDDL6D WITH TYPOS AND IMAG~S

OF HIM G6TTING DRUNK wmt 1·\lS STUD~NTS ... TH~ MIX Of

PICTUR~S,VID60, AND T~XT CAN 6STA6USH -- OR

DESTROY -- YOUR CR~DI61UTY,OR

~THOS. HIS CR~D- 161UTY MIGHT

RISE WITH SOM6, 6UT FALL WITH MOST OTH6RS.

IMAG~SAND WORDS CAN ALSO CONTRI6UT6 TO TH~ PATHOS

Of A PAG6 ...

C6RTAINLY, P"THOS IS 661NG US~DH~R~ TO PROMOT6 SYMPATHY

fOR LIZ ...

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BUT RHeTORIC ISN'T JUST ABOUT SPAC~. IT IS ALSO ABOUT lIM~.

ALL OF US HAve HAD expeRieNces THAT weRe eMBARRASS- ING, INSULTING, HUMILIATING,OR DeMoRALIZING.

OFTeN we WISH THAT we COULD HAve TRAV61eD BACK IN TIMe

TO SfJ..YJUST TH6 RIGHT THING AT THAT PfJ..RTICULfJ..R

MOMeNT.

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we MAY COMe UP WITH THe peRFeCT THING TO HAve

SAID MUCI-ILAT6R, BUT IT IS ALReADY

TOO LAT6.

Issue 1 • Why Rhetoric?

IN A L~GAL PROC~DING, PAR- T~c~pANTsAR~ ~XP~CT~D TO SP~AKONLYAT C~RTAINTM~S.

... ANDPRAIS~OR 6LAM~ FOR P~OPL~ IN TH~ PU6L1C ~Y~ MAYSWAYOPINIONSAT

CRUCIALMOM~NTS.

OFT~N, TH6R6 IS A NARROWWINDOWWITHIN

WHICHON6 CAN SP6AKOUT TO AFF6CT AN ISSU6.

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IN Tf.\€ ANCI€NT WORLD, L€ARNING ASOUT Rf.\€TORIC INVOLV€D L€ARNING Wf.\AT TO SAY ON SP€CIFIC OCCASIONS WH€N POLITICAL ACTIONS W€R€ 6€ING D€BAT€D, L€GAL CAS€S W€R€ S€ING TRI€D, OR FAMOUS P€OPL€ W€R€ S€ING PRAIS€D OR SLAM€D FOR TH€IR CONDUCT.

IN CLASSICAL RHHORIC, Tf.\€ GR€€K

T€~MIROS D€SCRIB€S AN

OPPORTUNITY OR (IS€ASON" FOR

SP€AKING.

Issue 1 • Why Rhetoric?

DIGITAL WRIT~RS WI-IOCOMMUNI-

CAT~ USINGTI-I~IR COMPUT~RS OR MOBIUSPI-ION~S OfT~N f~~L

COMP~LL~D TO I-IIT (lS~NDl)OR (I~NT~Rll

AS RAPIDLYAS POSSIBL~TO K~~P UPWITI-IA FAST- MOVING ONLlN~ CONV~RSATION.

IN~GDTO S~ND TI-IIS~MAIL

RIGI-ITAWAYTO TI-I6 PR~SID~NT OF THe;

UNIV~RSITY.

IF YOU TI-IINK ABOUT A RI-I~-

TORICAL OCCASION ONLY IN T~RMS OF R~ACTING QUICKLY, YOU COULD~ASILY 6ND UP WITI-IAN 6MBARRASSING

DISAST~R.

~n7?S)$~@~~li'n@\jl~ Relahonship Status:

FINALLY SINGLE.!

ON TH~ OTH~R HAND, WAITING TOO LON~ CAN DOOM YOUR COMMUNICATION ~ffORTS.

Issue 1 • Why Rhetoric?

fOR 6XAMPL6, US€RS Of SOCIAL N6TWORK SIT6S OfT6N ANNOUNC6

CHANG6SIN R6LATIONSHIP

STATUS ...

SOM6TIM€S) HOW6V6R, P€OPL6 MANAG6 TO SAY TH6 RIGHT THING AT JUST TH6 RIGHT MOM6NT, AND THOS6 PARTICULARLY APT WORDS AR6 R6M€M- S6R6D fOR CeNTURieS.

III only regret that I have but one life to lose for my

country.')

TH~ ROMAN RHHORICIAN MARCUSTUllIUS CIC6RO R~ALLY UNDERSTOODTH~ IMPORTANC~OF KAIROS.

FOR ~MMPL~, WH€N H€ WASASOUTTO S€ ~)('~T~D ON ARBITRARY POLITICAL

GIi'.OlN>SH~ SAWA MOM~NT FOR GRACIOUSWIT:

((There is nothing proper about what

you are doing, soldier••.

rt... but at least make sure you

cut off my head properly.')

CICERO, WHO LlK€ MANYClUURED ROMANS ADMIReD TH€ ANCI€NTGREEKS, TRAIN€D ORATORS FOR THE ROMAN

seNATe.

-",ML _:;::-> ~jb.F.~_ J.!_' _-_:::"'--~

CICERO (106-43 BeE) ANCieNT ROMAN PHILOSOPHeR, LAwveR, AND STATeSMAN

CICERO THOUGHT A60UT THE "TEXTS') OF RHETORIC VeRY BROADLY AND ReALIzeD THAT SPEECHES AND WRITING ARE NOT THE ONLY

WAYs PEOPLE COMMUNICATE •

.,.... THE ROMANS DeV6LOPED AN 6LABORATE SYSTEM OF lAWS AND PUBLIC

ENGINeERING PROJECTS TO ReGULATE AN INCREASINGLY COMPLEX SOCIETY.

THESE RES PUBLICA, OR ItpUBLIC THINGS, II ARE WORTH CONSIDERING AS RHfTORICAL ACTS AND SPAces.

AS ARCHEOLOGISTS KNOW, EVEN GOVeRNMENT BUILDINGS AND TRIUMPHAL ARCHES CONVEYED MESSAGES TO CITIZENS IN THE ANCieNT ROMAN WORLD AND

PRESENTED IMPLICIT ARGUMENTS A60UT AUTHORITY, PARnCIPATION, AND SHARED VALUES.

Issue 1 • Why Rhetoric?

W6LL, 6V6N THOUGH M6MORlZATlON IS NO LONG6R AS IMPORTANT AS IT ONC6 WAS, SOM6 THINGS ASOUT RH6TORIC R6MAIN TH6 SAM6.

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GREEK TERMS LIKE eTHOS, LOqOS,

PATHOS,A~ AAIROS MIGHT NOT 8E WORI>S

THAT you AI>DTO YOUR EVERYI>AY

VOCA6ULARY.

WE STILL NEEI> SPACES TO DEBATE IMPORTANT ISSUES IN PU6L1C. ANI>KNOWING

SPECIAL LANGUAGE fROM THE flELI> Of RHETORIC CAN 6E

HELPfUL TO IDENTifY EFFECTIVE -- ANI> INEFFECTIVE -- TECHNIQUES.

Aristotle: hana niCe h~\m!:lle LOt.

Plato: If !:lOU SClW where the rai.rl carne from, ~ou could never go back to your hapP9 ignor~nce !!!I

C.icero: As the mature

Issue 1 • Why Rhetoric?