The Art of Rhetoric
by Peter Dodds.
Rhetoric is the art of using language to persuade, and it's one of the most important tools any student can learn to use. However, it's rarely taught in UK universities.
From medieval literature to modern blockbuster films, rhetoric is at the heart of almost all dramatic and argumentative writing, and has a particular relevance for anyone who is attempting to write an academic paper.
This page will teach you the history and art of rhetoric, and will show you how to apply what you learn to your own work.
The History of Rhetoric
The first mention of rhetoric as a langauge-based art form comes in Homer's 'Iliad', where Achilles is lauded as a supreme example of a strong leader who can persuade a large population to follow him. This was particularly important in Ancient Greece, where written texts were rare and the majority of philosophers and writers had to memorise and perform their work in public, rhetoric was therefore a vital tool in their armour, and men (it was usually men) who could successfully manipulate an audience using rhetoric could easily summon up large armies. Rhetoric clearly had an important military, as well as philosophical, value. This came to be recognised more and more as first the Sophists, and then a number of prominent Greek philosophers, began to revise and hone the theory of rhetorical speech between 400 and 300 BC.
Plato'se Opposition to Rhetoric
Around the middle of the third century BC, Plato began to redefine several received truths about rhetoric, and in particular he attempted to define the difference between 'true' and 'false' rhetoric. It's often suggested that Plato was opposed to rhetoric, and that he felt it was a dangerous tool that men could use for evil purposes, but in fact Plato's position was much more balanced: he believed that while rhetoric tended to be used to support evil and greed, a properly regulated form of rhetoric could in fact be a very powerful and useful tool that could help mankind, he also felt that, in the face of harmful manipulation of rhetoric, it was incumbent upon the forces of good to become equally skilled at using rhetorical arguments to persuade 'the masses' that they must not be fooled. Above all, while recognising the harmful uses of rhetoric, Plato still believed in the essential power of the form.
Aristotle and the Art of Rhetoric
However, it was Plato's student Aristotle who truly advanced the theory of rhetoric. His 'Art of Rhetoric' carefully defines the many possible uses of rhetoric as a means of facilitating persuasion, and he follows many of Plato's philosophies in terms of the ways in which he seeks to advance the cause of rhetoric as a method of maintaining order. However, Aristotle doesn't entirely agree with Plato, and makes a number of important distinctions and clarifications. Most importantly, Aristotle was the first theorist to recognise the three main types of rhetoric: Ethos, Logos and Pathos. Ethos means that the writer is attempting to assert his authority, i.e. making someone believe him because of his reputation. For example, the President of the United States might make a speech and expect the audience to believe him because they trust that, as President, he would not lie to them. Logos is very different and involves the use of logic to persuade people. This type of persuasion involves backing up every comment with evidence that proves to the reader that what you are saying is true. Finally, Pathos is an appeal based on emotion. Adverts often use Pathos, attempting to get you to buy something not because you need it, but because it makes you happy. Each of these types is effective on its own, but the best type of argument involves combining them in different proportions in order to create a piece of writing that persuades the reader through both logic and emotion. By the time of Plato's death in 322 BC, the art of rhetoric was widely recognised, and it has remained so to this day.
So Is Rhetoric Bad?
Some people believe that rhetoric is not only subjective and blinkered, but also dangerous. They claim that skilled rhetorical speakers and writers can persuade other people to do things that they wouldn't normally do. Daniel Bader, for example, argues that "rhetoric allows the ignorant to persuade the ignorant, or, at best, allows the knowledgeable to persuade the ignorant without actually making them any less ignorant... (and) they merely have a knack for creating pleasure in their hearers at the right things, like pastry bakers pretending to be doctors, hawking their wares as medicine while only selling what is pleasant".
This is a fairly controversial view, for a number of reasons. First, it implies that readers have no power to judge the overall potency of a piece of rhetoric, and that they are unable to see past a skilled and persuasive text. Second, it suggests that advanced rhetoric could persuade someone to do something that they fundamentally would not ordinarily do, e.g. persuade a moral man to become a murderer. Some people believe that this explains how, for example, Hitler was able to persuade so many Germans to help carry out terrible acts during World War 2. However, it's possible to argue that this ignores the fact that for such extreme arguments to work, they must be at least partly rooted in a genuine real-world concern. Rhetoric can be a useful method of translating incipient desire into action, but it can't change a person's personality.
Click here for the next part of this series of expert writing tips, which covers typical errors and offers tips on how to avoid them.
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