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Rhetorical device: Difference between revisions
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* see page entry for [[Rhetoric]] | * see page entry for [[Rhetoric]] | ||
== Rhetoric == | |||
* "the art of persuasion" | |||
* one of the three classical arts of discourse (see below) | |||
* Aristotle defined rhetoric as | |||
** "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." | |||
* generally, rhetoric is the study of techniques to inform, persuade, or motivate (an audience) | |||
* In the Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, Steve Fuller defines rhetoric as: | |||
Rhetoric is employed in both act and perception, in private thought and public communication. It is a means of communication as well as a theory for understanding and criticizing itself and the alternative means of communication. (p. 237) | |||
=== Trivium - "Three Arts of Discourse" === | |||
* "trivium" = "the place where three roads meet" | |||
* [[wikipedia:Sister_Miriam_Joseph|Sister Miriam Joseph]]'s explanation of the Trivium: | |||
** '''grammar''' for expression of thought | |||
*** ''the thing as-it-is-symbolized'' | |||
**** symbols = letters and words | |||
** '''logic''' for the art of thought | |||
*** ''the thing as-it-is-known'' | |||
** '''rhetoric''' for communication | |||
*** ''the thing as-it-is-communicated'' | |||
*** use of language and logic to persuade | |||
* the trivium became the basis of the medieval "seven liberal arts" | |||
** the trivium (3) and its extension in the "quadrivium" ("four ways") of astronomy, arithmetic (mathematics), geometry, and music | |||
*** why arithmetic and geometry are distinct? | |||
**** arithmetic or mathematics = pure numbers (i.e. conceptual) | |||
**** geometry = number in space (i.e. distance, relation, etc.) | |||
***** studies the properties of distance, size, shape and relative positions | |||
==== Grammar ==== | |||
* the mechanics of language | |||
** including the "law of identity" | |||
*** that states "a horse is a horse, and not a man" | |||
*** see Plato's [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-cratylus/ Cratylus] | |||
==== Logic ==== | |||
* the mechanics of thought | |||
** i.e., analysis, deduction, argument | |||
* also, "dialectic" | |||
** = refers to reasoned argumentation, usually between two or more people who debate or discuss a topic with the aim to establish a truth | |||
==== Rhetoric ==== | |||
* application of language and logic for persuasion | |||
* Aristotle saw rhetoric as | |||
** "a combination of the science of logic and of the ethical branch of politics" | |||
** thus it was designed for understanding, discovery and argumentation | |||
** as both argumentation and ethics, rhetoric is truth-seeking | |||
* the art of rhetoric was especially important to the ancient Greeks who developed democracy and civic participation | |||
** rhetoric was a political tool and valued as an essential element of civic society | |||
=== Aristotle's "Rhetoric" === | |||
== Persuasion == | |||
* persuasion is the art of influencing another person's attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, choices, intentions or motivations | |||
* persuasion is distinct from coercion | |||
** as such, persuasion marks the fundamental distinguishing element in democratic as opposed to totalitarian society | |||
** coercion is the use of violence, threats of violence, or some form of repercussion in order to control or shape behavior, beliefs, or ideas | |||
** forms of changing belief that are coercive include (and thus are not persuasion) | |||
*** indoctrination | |||
*** brainwashing | |||
*** propagandism | |||
*** censorship | |||
* persuasion requires | |||
** reciprocity | |||
*** as Steve Fuller notes, "rhetoric judges and is judged, it moves and is moved." | |||
** honesty | |||
*** which is why Aristotle was so concerned about "ethics" | |||
** logic | |||
** language | |||
* forms of persuasion | |||
** logic | |||
** rhetorical devices (see below) | |||
** heuristics | |||
*** problem solving or argumentation that is not precise but yields an approximate truth or reality | |||
*** heuristics are rational but not perfectly logical | |||
*** includes: | |||
**** educated guess | |||
**** trial and error | |||
**** applied experience (things turn out as expected from prior experience) | |||
== Aristotle's Modes of Persuasion == | |||
== Rhetorical devices list == | == Rhetorical devices list == | ||