Perspectives on Human Communication – 2005

1. Perspectives on Human Communication – 2005 Dr. Willard Uncapher willardu@colorado.edu Mon-Fri 8/29,31 & 9/2/2005 – Rhetoric and Comm. Frameworks [Please Fill out Attendance Sheet]

2. Media History Overview • Historical Periods – a timeline • I. Oral (3 million - 3500 bce.) • includes dance, etc.- question is how info transmitted • and stored; how is culture transmitted & formed • II. (Hand) Written • a. glyphic, syllabic, etc (3500 bce. - 750 bce. approx.) • b. alphabetic (750 bce. - 1450 ce.) • III. Typographic (1450 - 1830 ce.) • printing press- mass media, newspapers • IVa. Electronic I (1830s- 1940s approx.) • telegraph, telephone, electric light • info become independent of space; short • IVb. Electronic II (1945- present) • (interactive) computers, multi-media fusions

3. Oral Era - (3 million - 3500 bce) • Words Have Power – How do words come to have meaning? • Bards, [Mobads, Brahmins]- poets who can remember • Greek Homeric tales; Sanskrit- Rg Veda; • Oral ‘Literature’ as performance • William Parry (Greece) and Alfred Lord (Yugoslavia)– Bards did exist! • Mnemonics- How is culture transmitted & stored between generations, and between communities? • Poetry- has rhyme, rhythm, repetitions – 'wise nestor' ‘Clever Odysseus‘

4. (Hand) Written II- Alphabetic (750 bce- 1450 ce approx.) • Origins – Used in commerce, then government, & only later in religion and story. Sumerians and clay. Letters among Merchants • Scribes – Professionals learn how to write and read, and so gain a special power. • Glyphs- Writing from symbols, to syllabaries • Books scarce until era of printing - scarce books & documents designed to be memorized to feed a vibrant oral culture • Alphabet Revolution? Many writing systems without vowels- Greeks add vowels to perfect efficient (‘digital’) system • ‘Democratization’? Because easier to learn system, to learn new words – still, rights for women, slaves, non-citizens were more limited • Greeks & Rhetoric? – a period of transition from ‘oral’ to ‘limited (hand) written’ culture – with alphabet, there is enough literacy to impact how society is organized, teachings its young, relates to its elders, and values knowledge!

5. Rhetoric and the Study of Languages • Study of Languages is ancient – not simply Greek • Formal Grammarians and Rhetoricians – seem to arise with spread of writing. • Panini – Ancient Indian Grammarian – (300 BCE) – Studies grammar of Sanskrit as a universal Language • comprehensive and scientific theory of phonetics, phonology, and morphology • “Sanskrit" means "complete" or "perfect" and it was thought of as the divine language, or language of the gods

6. Rhetoric in Greece • Study of Language • According to Aristotle, Corax ‘invented’ rhetoric in Syracuse (Sicily) around 476 B.C. • Corax’s student, Tisias, is said to have further developed the skills of rhetoric and then brought them to mainland Greece • Rhetoric as ‘persuasive discourse’ • “discipline given to the analysis, design, critique, and delivery of words intended to influence the attitudes or behaviors of a specific audience” • Isocrates – sounds like a lawyer, argues about who should pay debts • Rhetoric as a (formal) study of language • Study of ‘communication’ / tropes or figures of speech

7. Why does Rhetoric arise in Greece? • Athens experiment in democracy provides new place for public debate to influence public policy. • Need for persuasive speech in legal cases (Isocrates) • Oral expression and skilled oratory were admired and popular for entertainment.

8. The Sophists • Teachers emerged in the 5th century (B.C.) to teach rhetorical skills. • Sophist means “bearer of wisdom.” • Some taught wisdom (Socrates). • Some taught eloquence (Gorgias). • Others taught both wisdom and eloquence (Isocrates).

9. Isocrates (436-338 B.C.) • In his Antidosis, Isocrates defined the field of rhetoric and its importance in human affairs. • Elevates political and public interest over more philosophical and private interest • Isocrates believed that oratory was an art. • Importance of practical wisdom • Excellence could be attained only through: • Talent: development of an existing aptitude, • Education: extensive knowledge of subject matter, • Application: rigorous practice.

10. Plato (427-347 B.C.) • Dialogue: “Phaedrus” – discusses rhetoric • Emphasizes reason and ideals • Dialectic vs Rhetoric • Dialectic [analysis and synthesis of formal reasoning], • Rhetoric is an art to be learned • Speeches organized like living organisms • psychagogia--which translates into "soul-leading"--describes the nature of rhetoric • Writing is a copy of a copy • Will it weaken memory?

11. Aristotle (394-322 B.C.) • Flourished after Plato, teacher of Alexander the Great, known for his walking lectures (The “Peripatetic Philosopher”). • A scientist and observer of nature • Provided many explanations about how nature (physical, biological, psychological, etc) worked • Provided rules for reason and thought • Contrast with Plato: • Deductive Thought – reasoning from accepted basic/first principles (Plato) – look by to Pythagoras & Mathematics • Inductive Thought – reasoning based on experience and evidence; from a particular case (Aristotle)

12. Aristotle’s Rules of Logic:For the same of argument… you must accept these! • The Law of Identity – “A = A” – Things are what they are, and stay the same. • Eg. Men, Women as categories with consistent qualities. • Some argue this ‘law’ is not properly in Aristotle – from Middle Ages • The Law of the Excluded Middle – “A or not A” – Something either is or is not. • Eg. Either someone is a Human or they are not. • Some argue [later] for 3 values – yes, no, maybe • The Law of Contradiction – “A and not A can’t both be true” – contradictory statements can’t both be true. • Eg. One can’t be both human and non-human.

13. Syllogism and EnthymemesHow do you string ideas, assumptions, and connections together in an ‘argument’? It’s harder than it seems! • Syllogism – is a three part ‘argument’ with: • a major premise (“All humans are mortal”); • a minor premise (“Socrates is a human”); and • a conclusion (“Socrates is a mortal”) • Enthymeme – is a syllogism with an unstated assumption; can usually be restated as deductive syllogism • “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." —Lloyd Bentsen to Dan Quayle, 1988. (The hidden premises might be, Jack Kennedy was a great man, and you are not a great man.) • “The beautiful women, draped across the dashing red sports car... there is no logical connection between the two, but the advertiser would like to imply a premise that there is. If the advertiser came out and said "Buy this car and you will have more sexual satisfaction" it might be easier to reject as a premise. • Note: If the premises of the syllogism are invalid, the syllogism or enthymeme (argument) can be refuted.

14. Aristotle (continued) • Aristotle produced the first “textbook” on Rhetorical skills. • Aristotle’s Rhetoric combined the ethical concerns of Isocrates and Plato with the sophist’s practical ideas about persuasion. • Rhetoric combines dialectic, psychology, and persuasion. • [Contrast this with later theories of communication of Chapter 2: eg. channel, noise, feedback, social norms, etc.] • Three Elements to Poetics and Arguments [do memorize] • Ethos: ethical behavior which establishes the speakers good character and personal credibility. Speaks to the cultural side • What makes someone credible? Why might this be ‘cultural’ in nature? • Pathos: psychological tactics which bring the audience into an emotional state favorable to the speaker’s position or arguments. • What gets you excited, worried, impressed by a topic? • Logos: logical arguments which either make a case (or appear to make • What good reasons are there for you do accept or do something?

15. Cicero (106-43 B.C.) – ‘fancy language’ • Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman orator, lawyer, and practicing rhetorician. • Appears during the decline of the Roman Republic – before rise of the Empire with its Caesar/monarch. • Republic – wealthy aristocrats are elected. Mobility in law or military • A famous orator – would give elaborate, compelling speeches, and write about the theory of giving such speeches • Synthesized the Greek and Roman schools of rhetoric, and contributed specifics to the classical canon. • Used manuals in Greek; still a more upper class pursuit. • His works included De Inventione (On Invention) and De Oratore (On Oratory). • Inventione reads like a manual for lawyers, while Oratore is an extensive work on the artistry of rhetoric. • Places Rhetoric above Law and Philosophy • Wants to balance ‘truth’ and ‘speech’ • A skeptic [we can’t know ‘ultimate truth’] in philosophy, but not in ethics and politics – we need to act! - Cicero acknowledged the influence of Isocrates on his work. • Seneca the Younger – Contrasts with Ciceronian style: favors ‘plain speech’ of the people!

16. The Roman school: Quintilian’s Five Canons 1. Invention (inventio): the devising of matter, true or plausible, that would make the case convincing. 2. Arrangement (dispositio):the ordering and placing of matter. 3. Style (elocutio):the adaptation of suitable words and sentences to the matter invented. 4. Memory (memoria): the firm retention in the mind of the matter, words, and arrangement. 5. Delivery (pronuntiatio): the graceful regulation of voice, countenance, and gesture.

17. Quintilian & Beyond (ca. A.D. 30-98) • Marcus Fabius Quintilianus was born in Spain (Calahorra) but was taken to Rome around A.D. 50. • His principal work was the Institutio Oratoria, a blend of practical and theoretical precepts for educating citizen-orators. • Sets up the first ‘public school’ of rhetoric • Sets up ‘steps’ in learning rhetoric’ • Creates ‘textbook’ – hence importance for later generations • Quintilian argued that the goal of a rhetorical education was “a good man speaking well.” • For Quintilian, a “good man” possessed a long list of attributes and behaviors, most of them oriented to civic duty. • “Good speech” is an essential component to being full human • Pragmatic Approach – judge things by how well they work, and how well they serve people, arguments, and causes. • Medieval Rhetoric – Are your reasons based on ‘truth’ (received, transcendental - Plato) or ‘analysis’ (words as conventions, Aristotle)

18. What is communication? • Is communication intentional? • Are we dealing with ‘people’ or senders who want to send ‘something’ via communication? • Does it require a sender and receiver? • Is communication symbolic? • Must it involve signs, symbols, or some abstraction? • Is communication concerned with meanings? • Is our study of communication limited to humans? • Can we include animals… or plants? • Is communication limited to speech? • What different ‘channels’ are we going to look at? • When is ‘not doing something’ also ‘sending a message’?

19. Models and Definitions • Models and theories begin with definitions. • Definitions help establish the structure of the model. • Show structure and function. • Models and Theories? • Models are necessarily reductionist • Only some things selected • Models are abstractions (the map is not the territory). • We have to use ‘concepts’ [remember laws of identity, excluded middle, contradiction?] • Models are descriptive tools. • Illustrate, demonstrate, explain, and/or show relationships among entities or concepts. • Illustrate dynamics among components of a theory. • Models may lead to predictions

20. Models and Perspectives • Psychological [Transmission]: communication as the transmission of messages Metaphor: Radios • Social construction: communication as collective world-building Metaphor: Software • Pragmatic: communication as patterned interactions Metaphor: Chess game • Cultural and Critical Studies: communication as a revealer of social and cultural forces • Ethnography of Communication: looking at speech communities as observed

21. Psychological [Transmission] View