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Aristotelian Rhetoric

Discover Aristotle's approach to rhetoric and dialectic, including syllogism, enthymeme, ethos, pathos, and logos. Learn about commonplaces and Aristotle's 28 topoi for effective persuasion and logical argumentation.

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Aristotelian Rhetoric

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  1. Aristotelian Rhetoric Used by permission from Prof. J. Rhodes Call State San Bernardino

  2. Aristotle • 384-322 B.C.E. • Studied with Plato 367-347 B.C.E. • Defined rhetoric as “the faculty of discerning in every case the available means of persuasion [pisteis].”

  3. DIALECTIC Concerns truths that can be shown by attention to universal principles. Demonstrates through syllogism and induction. RHETORIC Concerns probabilities and “that which usually happens.” Demonstrates through enthymeme and example. Dialectic vs. Rhetoric “Rhetoric is the counterpart [antistrophe] of Dialectic.”

  4. Syllogism • Major premise • Minor premise • Conclusion All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Socrates is mortal. Yes, most definitely.

  5. Enthymeme • Major premise • Conclusion (Speaker assumes that audience will supply minor premise) All men are mortal. Socrates is mortal. Yes, most likely.

  6. “Rhetoric is concerned with proofs.” • Proofs are either artificial or inartificial • Inartificial (or nonartistic) proofs exist outside of the rhetor’s speech. Examples: witnesses, depositions under torture, contracts. • Artificial (or artistic) proofs have to do with the art of rhetoric, i.e., they are “furnished by our method.” • Inartificial proofs are used; artificial proofs must be invented. Definitely a nonartistic proof.

  7. Ethos “…we trust good men more and sooner, as a rule, about everything; while, about things which do not admit of precision, but only of guess-work, we trust them absolutely.”

  8. Pathos “The hearers themselves become the instruments of proof when emotion is stirred in them by the speech; for we give our judgments in different ways under the influence of pain and of joy, of liking and of hatred.” Images from libertyoutlet.com

  9. Logos “Proof is wrought through the speech itself when we have demonstrated a truth or an apparent truth by the means of persuasion available in a given case.”

  10. Kinds of Rhetoric

  11. Commonplaces (Topoi) • To find appropriate proofs, one must first know one’s facts, know the generally held premises of one’s audience, and know how to argue logically. • One argues logically by evaluating the relationship of claim, evidence, and premise; certain stock relationships are known as topoi, or “commonplaces.”

  12. Opposites Identical results and antecedents Inflections Altered choices Correlative terms Attributed motives More and less Incentives and deterrents Time Incredible occurences Definition Conflicting facts Induction Meeting slander Existing decisions Cause to effect Turning the tables Meaning of names Part to whole Actions compared Simple consequences Course of action Criss-cross consequences Previous mistakes Inward thoughts, outward show Division Proportional results Ambiguous terms For more on topoi, go to http://www.lcc.gatech.edu/gallery/rhetoric/terms/topoi.html Aristotle’s 28 Topoi

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