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 ==

Revision as of 16:00, 1 March 2023

"rhetoric" = "the art of use of language for persuasion"

Rhetoric[edit | edit source]

  • "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"[edit | edit source]

  • "trivium" = "the place where three roads meet"
  • 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[edit | edit source]

  • the mechanics of language
    • including the "law of identity"
      • that states "a horse is a horse, and not a man"
      • see Plato's Cratylus

Logic[edit | edit source]

  • 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[edit | edit source]

  • 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"[edit | edit source]

Persuasion[edit | edit source]

  • 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[edit | edit source]

Rhetorical devices list[edit | edit source]

ad hominem[edit | edit source]

apophasis[edit | edit source]

  • also called "Paralipsis"
  • author mentions an argument or fact in order to deny it or to deny using it
  • also used to mention something indirectly
  • = a form of irony
    • may be seen as a "passive-aggressive" argument
      • in that it states something while apologizing for having stated it
  • examples:
    • "But we won't talk about my opponent's disastrous married life"
    • "It would be a breach of decorum to mention base morals such as she embodies"
  • actual use of paralipses:
    • during Prohibition (when sale of alcohol was banned), a grape juice company included this paralipsis on its grape concentrate packaging:
      • "After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn into wine."
    • during the 1984 presidential debates, Ronald Reagan, who was much older than his opponent, stated,
      • "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience."

paralipsis[edit | edit source]

  • see Apophasis