Rhetorical device

Rhetorical device / rhetorical devices = language or communication tools used for persuasion

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, a fundamental component of open, civil society and discourse. Where there is no persuasion, there is mere conformity or, worse, compulsion. Rhetoric underlies a free, democratic society.

Rhetoric is more than a matter of speaking or writing style. It is a combination of 1) speaker & audience; 2) logic; 3) emotion = ethos, logos, pathos. Rhetoric moves ideas, is moved by ideas, and changes behaviors, beliefs, and actions.

Definitions

rhetoric

• "the art of the use of language for persuasion"

rhetorical

• of or having to do with "rhetoric", which is "the art the use of language for persuasion"

device

• a technique or tool employed in
• thus, a technique for persuasion

rhetorical device

= techniques for persuasion

"rhetorical" in literary analysis

• note that in literature, "rhetoric" and "rhetorical"

see also: Rhetoric page entry

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, Stephen Ziliak 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"
• 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 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"

• Aristotle = 4th Century B.C. Greek philosopher who deeply influenced Western thought
• his work, "Rhetoric" or "Art of Rhetoric" studied the art of persuasion
• in it, Aristotle clarified a center ground between the "sophists", who cared only for persuasion, regardless for truth, and Plato (and thus, Socrates) who focused on philosophy and absolute truths
  • Plato felt that rhetoric was inherently deceptive, so only philosophy, which focused on discovering the truth
  • Aristotle's insight was that rhetoric is a key tool for the discovery of truth

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 Stephen Ziliak 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

• the commonly referred to modes of persuasion are ethos, logos and pathos
• Aristotle also discussed a fourth mode of persuasion, kairos (see below)
• Aristotle distinguished types of persuasive situations, including
  • epideictic = ceremonial speeches (praise or condemnation)
  • forensic = judicial, especially for establishing guilt or innocence
  • deliberative = persuasion of an audience on an issue or idea
    • the purpose of deliberative rhetoric was to pursue the koinon, or common, or greater, good
    • deliberative rhetoric was to be used in the four politeia, democracy, oligarchy, aristocracy and monarchy
• and he distinguished two types of "rhetorical proofs"
  • proof = a logical argument that is sufficient to establish a truth
  • enthymeme = proof by logic (syllogism, or deductive reasoning)
    • i.e., if A= B, and B=C, then A=C
  • paradeigma = proof by example
    • in order to establish a general rule
• he argued that philosophy is too narrow a discipline for practical purposes
  • while philosophy is useful for reasoning to a scientific (knowledgeable) certainty or truth
  • rhetoric has a larger, practical role in human affairs
• In Rhetoric, Aristotle outlined three main categories of persuasive techniques to employ upon an audience
  • (note that the appeal must have an audience!)
  • ethos, logos & pathos
• Aristotle agrees with Plato that persuasion can be deceptive and abusive,
  • thus while employing "pathos" (passion, emotion), a speaker must also exhibit "ethos" (see below)

Ethos

• ethical appeal to establish speaker's credibility and character
  • most commonly taught in high school as "appeal to authority" or the "credibility" of the speaker
  • wherein the speaker establishes expertise, knowledge, authority or credibility
• however, Aristotle's use of eunoia is essential to understand the meaning of "ethos"
  • an "ethos" is a common set of values
  • thus the mode of persuasion of ethos must appeal to and reinforce the beliefs, character, and ideals of the audience
    • it is from that commonality with the audience that the speaker earns credibility
• for Aristotle ethos consists of a speaker's
  • phronesis = wisdom and good judgment
  • arete = excellence or virtue
  • eunoia = good will between the speaker and the audience
• accordingly, a speaker's credibility may be impugned (disputed) if
  • speaker lacks expertise (i.e., speaker lacks authority, experience or knowledge to speak about the topic)
  • speaker has a personal interest in the outcome of the debate (i.e., has a personal bias, thus lacks credibility)
  • speaker has an ulterior motive in the outcome of the debate (i.e. has an additional reason for taking a position)

Logos

• reason

Pathos

• appeal to the emotions of an audience via
  • sympathy (I feel bad for you) or empathy (I know how you feel)

the three Modes of Persuasion circularity

• while not explicit in Aristotle, we can see that each of the modes can be interconnected or self-referential to one another:

Reinforced or Dual Modes of Persuasion

Multi-modal argument	Ethos	Logos	Pathos
A common or shared emotional experience w/ the audience ("I have suffered with you")	y		y
A common emotional experience that has a logical conclusion ("Starving babies is mean and also kills them")		y	y
A logical argument that leads to a common and/or emotional experience ("If we continue this madness, we will all die"	y	y	y

Kairos

• a well-timed appeal that stays within the context of the moment
• kairos means "the right, critical, or opportune moment"
  • arguing something at the right time
  • keeping to the persuasive context

Rhetorical devices

• see above for Ethos, Logos and Pathos
• additional sections will cover rhetorical devices of counter-argument and repetition
• note
  • some of these rhetorical devices may be used to create false or misleading arguments or logical fallacies, or to impugn (insult, insincerely attack) another person or position (ex. "ad hominem")
  • many of these devices are also called "literary devices" and so are listed within that category, as well
  • see Logical fallacies and Literary devices

ad hominem

• personal attack on the opponent as opposed to the opponent's argument
• can be a valid argument; see: Character Attacks: How to Properly Apply the Ad Hominem - Scientific American

alliteration

• repetition of sounds
  • tightening tentacles terribly perturbs our tentative template

aporia

• expression of doubt
  • when will this ever end, that is our problem

cacophony

• clashing sounds and words meant to convey tension or trouble

Gish gallop

• rapid use of multiple arguments in order to overwhelm a debate or argument
  • avoids scrutiny of individual arguments
  • named for Duane Gish who spoke rapidly and without allowing the opponent to intervene or analyze each individual arguments

metanoia

• re-expressing a statement in a stronger or lesser way
• Her idea changed our country; indeed, it changed the world!

metonymy

• a reference to a person or thing though an office or attribute
  • the White House (the president)
  • my heart beats for you (love, care)
  • those suits care only about themselves (corporate leaders)

onomatopoeia

• using words that sound like the mean

paralipsis

• see apophasis

personification

• giving human qualities to objects or ideas

trap question

• a syllogistic (logical) line of questions or thought that lead one's opponent to a logical conclusion in support of one's own argument
• particularly powerful in trials, whereby the witness is "trapped" into an admission of some fact

Rhetorical devices of counterarguments

diasyrmus

• a ridiculous comparison in order to dismiss a counter argument

derision

• ridicule or satire of an opposing argument
  • You believe that? I have a bridge to sell you!

procatalepsis

• an argument that anticipates a possible objection
• then rebuts those objections

enthymeme

• an incomplete logical argument that begs the listener to fill in the answer or one that is already understood
  • You can bet he'd never do that. Well, not if he's the kind of person he thinks himself to be.

hyperbole

• exaggeration for effect

hypophora

• ask a question, then proceed to answer it

Rhetorical devices of repetition

anadiplosis

• repeating a word or idea between sentence parts
  • to each a duck, ducks for all!
  • whosoever suffers it, suffers the most

anaphora

• repeating a word at the beginning of each clause, sentence or paragraph
• similar to epistrophe
  • = repetition of a word or phrase at the end of a cause, sentence or paragraph
• symploce ("sim-ploh-see")
  • = use of both anaphora and epistrophe

antanaclasis

• repeating a word without interruption
  • yes, yes, yes
  • why? why? why?

apophasis

• 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."

• see Apophasis - Wikipedia

Figurative or literary devices

• generally used for literary purposes and effects, these devices may also aid in the persuasive use of rhetoric