Rhetoric and Composition

Logos, Ethos, Pathos

Historical Background: Might or Write?

In ancient times it was not enough to have wealth and power to acquire position, one had to possess the capacity for persuasive discourse and be an accomplished rhetorician. This came to be especially critical as citizens strove to secure a position in the participatory democracy that characterized Rome. The sophists taught rhetoric for hire. The philosophy of the day was that man was the measure (of truth); in other words, truth was whatever was true to for any man at any given time, and that there were two sides to every argument. Communication, after all, was primarily verbal, and in the case of those seeking power; oratory. The beginning of a scientific and philosophical study of writing began with dialogue and how to most effectively and efficiently communicate.

Plato

Plato found the sophists to be unethical and deceptive; teaching people to effectively persuade with more regard for money than truth. He deemed their teaching as “cookery” or a knack, not an art. He did finally conclude that using rhetoric, once one had identified a truth to convey, was appropriate. In his work, the Phaedrus, “Swearingen argues that Plato considered dialogue the true rhetoric, a mode of philosophical reasoning… the brings forth meaning, and an analysis that leads to truth” (Lauer, 2004, p. 18).

Aristotle

In the Rhetoric, Aristotle outlined principles for discourse and special topics. John Gage “stated that for Aristotle knowledge was created through invention in the activity of discourse” (Lauer, 2004, p. 19). Aristotle sketched the architecture from which all classical and modern composition are built . In it are the five canons of rhetoric and the three branches of discourse. His was the art of discovering the available means of persuasion in a given case or a particular situation.

Rhetorical TriangleKnowledge of the audience and the biases of the communicator have as much impact, perhaps more, than the message itself. Social contexts are the glasses through which we view the world.

Audience & Communicator: Context

Personal context has to do with nationality, race, religion, culture related to where a person live; region, country, community, and family. It also has to do with accumulated experiences over time and knowledge gained through education and personal study. What is your context?

Audience & Communicator: Bias

Definition

“a particular tendency, trend, inclination, feeling, or opinion, especialyone that is preconceived or unreasoned: illegal bias against older jobapplicants; the magazine’s bias toward art rather than photography;our strong bias in favor of the idea.”

From Dictionary.com, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bias

Imagine your bias as a Jew in a containment camp.

Imagine your bias as a German who is also a Nazi soldier.

Five Canons of Rhetoric

For more info about the history of rhetoric, click on the link, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw6cRtSUDYc . Video by Dr. Star Muir, George Mason University

Three Genres of Discourse

Deliberative• Legislative• Advantages• Disadvantages• Policy• Future• Forensic

Forensic

• Judicial• Justice• Innocence or guilt• Evidence• past

Epideictic

• Ceremonial• Occasion• Praise or blame• Lesson• Present

Video: Ethos by Dr. Muir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-zazdKSSho

Video: Logos By Dr. Muirhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6TOCN40xZ0

Video: Pathos by Dr. Muirhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_GhePQgdQc

Rhetoric and Creative Writing

How does rhetoric relate to my writing?

Jacob the Liar was originally a novel written by the East German Jewish author Jurek Becker. In this film adaptation, Robin Williams plays the part of Jacob.

Note how you feel at the end of the movie. Do you feel moved? Changed? Angry?

Your response to this movie is your first discussion post of the week.

Rhetoric in Jakob the Liar

To view the movie, click on the link, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O1ddEbEqIY

Consider a novel you have read. Did the story move you? Did it make you happy? Sad? Mad? Did you laugh? Did it change the way you think about the world?

Fiction can be as persuasive as any non-fiction. We don’t tend to think of fiction as an “argument”, pro or con, when in fact, fiction solicits our agreement in much the same way as a persuasive argument.

In order to illustrate this point, a link to the movie Jakob the Liar has been provided at the left.

Review of Rhetoric

“argument” or discourse

Man is the measure of truth

There are two sides to every argument

Philosophical reasoning that brings forth meaning

Knowledge created through invention

Memory

Arrangement

Invention

Delivery

Style

M.A.I.D.S.

Deliberative• Advantages/disadvantages• Legislative• future

Forensic• Justice/evidence• Judicial• past

Epideictic• Praise or blame• Occasion• present

Definitions Five Canons Three Genres