Rhetoric

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This page Rhetoric is part of the linguistics series.
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"Plato (427–347 BC) famously outlined the differences between true and false rhetoric in a number of dialogues; particularly the Gorgias and Phaedrus dialogues wherein Plato disputes the sophistic notion that the art of persuasion (the sophists' art, which he calls "rhetoric"), can exist independent of the art of dialectic. Plato claims that since sophists appeal only to what seems probable, they are not advancing their students and audiences, but simply flattering them with what they want to hear. While Plato's condemnation of rhetoric is clear in the Gorgias, in the Phaedrus he suggests the possibility of a true art wherein rhetoric is based upon the knowledge produced by dialectic, and relies on a dialectically informed rhetoric to appeal to the main character, Phaedrus, to take up philosophy. Thus Plato's rhetoric is actually dialectic (or philosophy) "turned" toward those who are not yet philosophers and are thus unready to pursue dialectic directly. Plato's animosity against rhetoric, and against the sophists, derives not only from their inflated claims to teach virtue and their reliance on appearances, but from the fact that his teacher, Socrates, was sentenced to death after sophists' efforts." --Sholem Stein

Rhetoric (Aristotle)

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Rhetoric is the art of discourse, wherein a writer or speaker strives to inform, persuade or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. It can also be in a visual form. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the European tradition. Its best known definition comes from Aristotle, who considers it a counterpart of both logic and politics, and calls it "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." Rhetoric typically provides heuristics for understanding, discovering, and developing arguments for particular situations, such as Aristotle's three persuasive audience appeals, logos, pathos, and ethos. The five canons of rhetoric, which trace the traditional tasks in designing a persuasive speech, were first codified in classical Rome: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. Along with grammar and logic (or dialectic—see Martianus Capella), rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse.

From Ancient Greece to the late 19th century, it was a central part of Western education, filling the need to train public speakers and writers to move audiences to action with arguments.

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Etymology

Borrowed from Old French rhetorique, from Latin rhētorica, from Ancient Greek ῥητορική (rhētorikḗ), ellipsis of ῥητορικὴ τέχνη (rhētorikḕ tékhnē), from ῥητορικός (rhētorikós, “concerning public speech”), from ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr, “public speaker”).

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+[[Image:The Big Swallow.jpg|thumb|left|200px|This page '''{{PAGENAME}}''' is part of the [[linguistics]] series.<br>
+<small>Illustration: a close-up of a [[mouth]] in the film ''[[The Big Swallow]]'' (1901)</small>]]
+{| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
+| style="text-align: left;" |
+"[[Plato]] (427–347 BC) famously outlined the differences between true and false [[rhetoric]] in a number of dialogues; particularly the ''[[Gorgias (dialogue)|Gorgias]]'' and ''[[Phaedrus (dialogue)|Phaedrus]]'' dialogues wherein Plato disputes the sophistic notion that the art of [[persuasion]] (the [[sophist]]s' art, which he calls "rhetoric"), can exist independent of the art of [[dialectic]]. Plato claims that since sophists appeal only to what seems probable, they are not advancing their students and audiences, but simply [[flattering]] them with what they want to hear. While Plato's condemnation of rhetoric is clear in the ''Gorgias'', in the ''Phaedrus'' he suggests the possibility of a true art wherein rhetoric is based upon the knowledge produced by dialectic, and relies on a dialectically informed rhetoric to appeal to the main character, Phaedrus, to take up philosophy. Thus Plato's rhetoric is actually dialectic (or philosophy) "turned" toward those who are not yet philosophers and are thus unready to pursue dialectic directly.  Plato's animosity against rhetoric, and against the sophists, derives not only from their inflated claims to teach virtue and their reliance on appearances, but from the fact that his teacher, Socrates, was sentenced to death after sophists' efforts." --Sholem Stein
+<hr>
+''[[Rhetoric (Aristotle)]]''
+|}
+[[Image:John Bulwer's alphabetic chirogram from Chirologia.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Chirogram from John Bulwer's Chirologia|Chirogram from John Bulwer's ''Chirologia'']]]]
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-:''[[Rhétorique du surréalisme]]''
+'''Rhetoric''' is the art of [[discourse]], wherein a writer or speaker strives to inform, persuade or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. It can also be in a visual form. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the European tradition. Its best known definition comes from [[Aristotle]], who considers it a counterpart of both logic and politics, and calls it "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of [[persuasion]]." Rhetoric typically provides [[heuristics]] for understanding, discovering, and developing [[argument]]s for particular situations, such as Aristotle's three persuasive audience appeals, [[logos]], [[pathos]], and [[ethos]]. The five canons of rhetoric, which trace the traditional tasks in designing a persuasive speech, were first codified in classical Rome: [[inventio]]n, [[Dispositio|arrangement]], [[Elocutio|style]], [[Memoria|memory]], and [[Pronuntiatio|delivery]]. Along with [[grammar]] and [[logic]] (or [[dialectic]]—see [[Martianus Capella]]), rhetoric is one of the [[trivium (education)|three ancient arts of discourse]].
-'''Rhetoric''' (from [[Greek language|Greek]], rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of [[persuasion]] through the use of oral or written language; however, this definition of rhetoric has expanded greatly since rhetoric emerged as a field of study in universities. In this sense, there is a divide between classical rhetoric (with the aforementioned definition) and contemporary practices of rhetoric which include the analysis of written and visual texts.
+From [[Ancient Greece]] to the late 19th century, it was a central part of Western education, filling the need to train public speakers and writers to move audiences to action with arguments.
+==Etymology==
+Borrowed from Old French ''rhetorique'', from Latin ''rhētorica'', from Ancient Greek ''ῥητορική'' (rhētorikḗ), ellipsis of ''ῥητορικὴ τέχνη'' (rhētorikḕ tékhnē), from ''ῥητορικός'' (rhētorikós, “concerning public speech”), from ''ῥήτωρ'' (rhḗtōr, “public speaker”).
-Historically, classical rhetoric has its inception in a school of [[Pre-Socratic]] philosophers known as [[Sophists]].
-It is later taught as one of the three original [[liberal arts]] or ''[[trivium (education)|trivium]]'' (the other members are [[dialectic]] and [[grammar]]) in Western culture.  In ancient and medieval times, [[grammar]] concerned itself with correct, accurate, pleasing, and effective language use through the study and criticism of literary models, [[dialectic]] concerned itself with the testing and invention of new knowledge through a process of question and answer, and rhetoric concerned itself with persuasion in public and political settings such as assemblies and courts of law.  As such, rhetoric is said to flourish in open and [[democratic]] societies with rights of [[free speech]], free assembly, and political enfranchisement for some portion of the population.
-Contemporary studies of rhetoric have a more diverse range of practices and meanings than was the case in ancient times.  The concept of rhetoric has thus shifted widely during its 2500-year history. Rhetoricians have recently argued that the classical understanding of rhetoric is limited because persuasion depends on communication, which in turn depends on meaning. Thus the scope of rhetoric is understood to include much more than simply public--legal and political--discourse.  This emphasis on meaning and how it is constructed and conveyed draws on a large body of critical and social theory (see ''[[literary theory]] and [[Critical Theory]]''), philosophy (see ''[[Post-structuralism]] and [[Hermeneutics]]''), and problems in social science methodology (see ''[[Reflexivity (social theory)|Reflexivity]])''. So while rhetoric has traditionally been thought of being involved in such arenas as politics, law, public relations, lobbying, marketing and advertising, the study of rhetoric has recently entered into  diverse fields such as humanities, religion, social sciences, law, science, journalism, history, literature and even cartography and architecture. Every aspect of human life and thought that depends on the articulation and communication of meaning can be said to involve elements of the rhetorical.
-It has also spawned its own method of inquiry known as [[Rhetoric#Discourse_Analysis|Discourse Analysis (see below)]].
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Rhetoric

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