Rhetoric Book II
The Nature of Invention
Book One General Outline
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Ch 1
Ch 2
Ch 3
Rhetoric vis-a-vis Dialectic
Rhetoric Defined
Three Species of Rhetoric
(deliberative, judicial, epideictic)
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Ch 4
Deliberative Rhetoric:
Political Topics
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Ch 5
Deliberative Rhetoric:
Ethical Topics
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Ch 6
Deliberative Rhetoric:
Ethical Topics(cont'd)
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Ch 7
Deliberative Rhetoric:
The Greater Good
Book One General Outline
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Ch 8
Deliberative Rhetoric:
Topics on Political Constitutions
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Ch 9
Ch 10
Epideictic Rhetoric & Amplification
Judicial Rhetoric:
Topics on Wrongs and their Causes
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Ch 11
Judicial Rhetoric:
Topics on Pleasure
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Ch 12
Judicial Rhetoric:
Topics on Wrongdoers and the Wronged
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Ch 13
Judicial Rhetoric:
Topics on Justice and Injustice
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Ch 14
Judicial Rhetoric:
The Greater Wrong
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Ch 15
Judicial Rhetoric:
Nonartistic Means of Persuasion
Book I in review
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Recall that in Book I Aristotle identifies three
means of persuasion (pisteis) that a rhetor must
keep in mind when addressing an audience:
– ETHOS: that which is derived when the speaker's
character is presented in a favorable light.
– PATHOS: which is derived from awakening emotion in
an audience.
– LOGOS: that which is derived from the logic of the
speaker's argument.
Book II General Outline
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Ch 1
Character and Emotion in Persuasion
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Ch 2
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Ch 3
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Ch 4
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Ch 5
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Ch 6
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Ch 7
Arousing Emotion:
Anger and Calmness
Arousing Emotion:
Anger and Calmness (cont'd)
Arousing Emotion:
Friendliness and Enmity
Arousing Emotion:
Fear and Confidence
Arousing Emotion:
Shame and Shamelessness
Arousing Emotion:
Kindliness and Unkindliness
Book II General Outline
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Ch 8
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Ch 9
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Ch 10
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Ch 11
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Ch 12
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Ch 13
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Ch 14
Arousing Emotion:
Pity and Indignation
Arousing Emotion:
Pity and Indignation (cont'd)
Arousing Emotion:
Envy and Emulation
Arousing Emotion:
Envy and Emulation (cont'd)
Adapting Ethos to Audience:
The Young
Adapting Ethos to Audience:
The Old
Adapting Ethos to Audience:
Those in Their Prime
Book II General Outline
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Ch 15
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Ch 16
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Ch 17
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Ch 18
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Ch 19
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Ch 20
Adapting Ethos to Audience:
The Well Born
Adapting Ethos to Audience:
The Wealthy
Adapting Ethos to Audience:
The Powerful
Logical Argument:
Introduction
Logical Argument:
Common topics:
Possible/Impossible; Past
Fact/Future Fact; Degree
Logical Argument:
From Example
Book II General Outline
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Ch 21
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Ch 22
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Ch 23
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Ch 24
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Ch 25
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Ch 26
Logical Argument:
Maxims
Logical Argument:
Enthymemes
Logical Argument:
28 Common Topics & Strategies
Logical Argument:
Fallacious Enthymemes
Logical Argument:
Refutation of Enthymemes
Logical Argument:
Non-Topics: Amplification,
Refutation, Objection
Book II Overview
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In Book II Aristotle goes into greater detail on
each of these means of persuasion.
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It is interesting to note that Aristotle realizes that
the average person usually isn't persuaded by
arguments alone.
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It is for this reason that the rhetor needs to have
a firm understanding of how to use his own
character and the emotions of the audience as
means of persuasion as well.
Chapter One
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Ethical and Pathetic Proofs
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General Discussion of Ethos
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Object of Rhetoric is Judgment
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Speaker's character important for
deliberative oratory
Chapter One
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Judge's frame of mind more important for
forensic oratory
Three qualities necessary to produce
conviction:
– good sense
– virtue
– good will
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Definition of emotions
– The emotions are all those affections which
cause men to change their opinion in regard to
their judgments, and are accompanied by
pleasure and pain.
Book II
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Chapters Two - Eleven
– Pathos
– Introduction
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"Emotions in Aristotle's sense are moods,
temporary states of mind---not attributes of
character or natural desires---and arise in
large part from perception of what is publicly
due to or from oneself at a given time. As
such, they effect judgments" (Kennedy
124). The clever speaker, therefore, can
alter the psychological state of members of
his audience by arousing specific emotions
in them, and, thus effect their judgments.
Pathos
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Aims of Rhetor in Arousing Emotions
– The aim of the rhetor, according to
Aristotle, is
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to aroused these emotion in an audience in
order to effectively secure the judgment that
he desires from them and
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to be able to arouse negative emotions
(e.g., shamelessness, enmity, and envy)
against one's enemies.
Pathos
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What we need to know about the
emotion in order to persuade (2.1):
– the nature (definition) of the particular
emotion
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what is the state of mind of the person who feels the
emotion?
– the object of the emotion
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towards whom or what is the emotion felt?
– cause of the emotion
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why is the emotion felt and in what circumstances is
it felt?
Chapter Two
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Catalogue of Ethical/Pathetic Proofs
Anger and Mildness
Analysis of Anger
– Definition
– Slights
– Dispositions of those roused to anger
– Objects of anger
Chapter Two
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Anger
– definition: strong desire for revenge caused
by the belittlement of ourselves or those we
love. This belittle must be uncalled for (e.g.,
undeserved)
– object = felt towards that particular individual
(or group) that has caused us harm
– cause = some manifestation of belittlement--e.g.:
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contempt: felt towards those who are viewed as
unimportant.
spite: involves thwarting another's wishes, not to get
something for oneself but to prevent him from having
it.
insult: involves saying or doing things to sham one's
victim not because of anything he may have done to
you, but simply for the pleasure involved.
Chapter Three
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Calmness
– definition: the settling down and quieting of
anger. Therefore, calm is the opposite state of
anger.
– object =
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felt towards those who do not belittle us (i.e., who
respect us)
or who have done so involuntarily
or who are sorry for what they have done, etc.
– cause =
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when we feel prosperous, successful, satisfied, free
from pain
when our anger has cooled or has been spent (i.e.,
directed elsewhere)
when the wrongdoer has been punished (or has
adequately suffered)
or when we feel that we are deserving of belittlement
Chapter Four
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Friendly Feeling
– definition: wishing some good for the other, not
for one's own sake, but for his
– object:
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felt towards those who take pleasure in our pleasure /
pain in our pain
or who love/hate the same people we do
or who demonstrate good will towards us (via
generosity / protection, etc)
or who are good people, pleasant to be with
those who are like us / share the same interests
– cause:
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when the other has wished our good for our own sake
Chapter Five
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Fear and Confidence
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Fear
– definition: pain cause by the expectation of
some future evil. Note: This evil something that
has the possibility to cause great harm/pain, and
which is perceived as being not far off
– Object
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felt from being at the mercy of other
or towards those who have been wrong and may want
revenge
or towards rivals, bullies
or when one has no source of help
– cause: expectation of suffering
Chapter Six
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Shame
– definition: pain concerning a class of evils, past, present
or future, that seems to being a person into disrespect.
Involves the possibility of disgrace or loss of respect
brought about to oneself or loved ones.
– object:
 felt towards those whose we admire or who admire us
or who we wish to admire us
 or those against whom we are in competition
 or those those who are not inclined towards same
vices we are
 or those likely to gossip
– cause:
 disgrace produced by vice (cowardice, injustice, sexual
intemperance)
 having not attained ones' proper status in society
(especially because of ones own fault)
 having suffered unwillingly something shameful
Chapter Eight
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Pity
– definition: pain over evil caused to someone
who does not deserve it.
Pity is not felt by:
– those who are completely ruined or who feel
completely invulnerable to evil (i.e., they are not
able to sympathize)
Pity is felt by:
– those who have experience similar evils in the
past and have escaped
– or by the elderly (whose life experience makes
them more sympathetic)
– or by those who can image the same pain
caused to themselves or to loved ones
Chapter Eight
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Pity
object:
– felt towards those whom we know, but who are not closely
related to us (or we would experience fear rather than pity)
– those who are like us in some way (age, character, social
standing, etc)
– those who are able to effectively (emotionally/dramatically)
demonstrate or communicate the fully extent of their pain
or suffering
cause:
– evils that cause destruction (death, injury, sickness, old
age, famine)
– evils cause by chance (friendlessness, deformity,
weakness)
– evils coming from what should be a source of good (family,
friends)
Chapter Nine
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Indignation
– definition: pain at underserved good fortune
[the opposite of pity].
– object:
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not felt towards those who are perceived as
good/worthy
– felt towards newly rich/powerful (Aristotle's
snobbery?)
– or who are ill-suited for the goods they possess (the
Beverly Hillbillies)
– cause: the just/ambitious persons perception
of another undeserved success
Chapter Eleven
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Jealousy
– definition: pain caused by the good
fortune of those similar to ourselves,
because we want what they have for
ourselves.
vs. envy: pain caused by the good fortune of
those similar to ourselves, not because we
want what they have, but simply because we
resent them having it (c.f., 2.10)
 Therefore jealousy is reasonable and positive
(since it helps us to improve ourselves), while
envy is often irrational and negative (since it
is grounded in pure spite)
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Chapter Eleven
– object:
felt towards those who possess those goods
that we ourselves desire but don't have
 or those whom we admire / seek to emulate
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– cause:
desire for those goods that others possess
(wealth, power, friends, etc.)
 a perception of one's own worthiness to
possess these goods (because of one's
character, class or lineage)
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Chapters Twelve - Seventeen
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Ethos
Chapter Twelve
– Introduction
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In this section Aristotle goes into a lengthy
description of various character types. Although in
2.1, Aristotle discusses ethos primarily in terms of the
character of of the speaker as a means of
persuasion, throughout the rest of Book II he
primarily focuses on the ethos of the audience. The
aim here seems to be on how the speaker will have
to adjust his ethos to the various types of audiences
he is addressing.
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In addressing an audience, the speaker, then, needs
to keep in mind (1) the age if his audience and (2)
their circumstances in life.
Chapters Twelve - Seventeen
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Although we generally talk in terms of the
character of individuals, Aristotle believes that
different classes of people also manifest common
character traits. Thus we can also talk about the
character of the elderly or of the rich.
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"The predominant meaning of ethos in Aristotle is
'moral character' as reflected in deliberate choice
of actions and as developed in a habit of mind. At
times, however, the word seems to refer to
qualities, such as an innate sense of justice or
quickness of temper, with which individuals may
be naturally endowed and which dispose them to
certain kinds of action" (Kennedy 162).
Chapters Twelve - Seventeen
– Chapters Twelve - Fourteen
– Ages
 Youth
 Old Age
 Prime of Life
– Chapters Fifteen - Seventeen
– Fortunes
 Noble Birth
 Wealth
 Power
Chapter Twelve
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the character of the young
– Aristotle's description of the young emphasizes
the strength of their bodily drives.
– the young, he claims....
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have stronger passions than those who are older
are most swayed by sexual desire, and in this they
often show a lack of self-control
have intense desires that tend to be short-lived
love honor, but love victory more, since young people
love to win
tend to act out of anger more than those who are older
are more easily deceived and cheated than those who
are older
tend to be optimistic, because they haven't been
knocked down much by life and hopeful because they
still have a long life ahead of them
Chapter Thirteen
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the character of the elderly
– Aristotle's description of the elderly begins by
showing that their character is contrary to that
of the young. The emphasis in this section is
primarily upon the idea that the experience of
the eldery in life makes them somewhat
cynical.
– the elderly, he maintains...
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having lived a long time, having make mistakes, and
having been taken in by others, view life with less
confidence than the young.
tend to be overly cautious in their actions and in
expressing opinions (e.g., they "think but never
know")
tend to be more suspicious and distrustful than the
young
Chapter Thirteen
– the elderly, he maintains...
live more in the past than the future, since
their life is drawing to a close.
 tend to be a bit stingy, because they know
how hard money is to come by
 feel pity for others, but more out of
weakness than kindness
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Chapter Fourteen
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the character of those in the prime of life
– As opposed to the elderly who are often
difficult to persuade and the young who are
governed by their passions, Aristotle's
description of those in their prime makes it
clear that he believes that they are far more
easily persuaded by reason. Aristotle
describes the prime of life as physically
between 30 and 35 and intellectually between
30 and 49.
– those in the prime of life, he says...
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have characters free from the extremes of youth and
old age (i.e., they are neither too rash nor too timid;
neither too skeptical nor overtrusting; neither too
generous nor too stingy)
combine the best traits of youth and old age, while
avoiding many of the excesses.
tend to make decisions on a rational basis
Chapter Sixteen
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wealth
– Those who possess great wealth,
according to Aristotle...
tend to be insolent, overbearing and
pretentious
 value everything by money
 tend towards ostentation (showiness)
 consider themselves entitled to everything
(especially political power)
 tend to do wrong more form
 all these vices are compounded in the
nouveau riche
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Chapter Seventeen
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power
– Those who possess great power...
are generally a better sort than the rich
 tend to be even more ambitious and heroic
 are more energetic and serious than other
people because they want to stay in power
 can be a bit overbearing, but also possess a
dignified reserve
 usually commit great rather than petty
crimes.
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Chapters Eighteen - Twenty-six
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Logos
– Aristotle now moves from a discussion
of character to a discussion of logical
argumentation. It is in these chapters
we find his treatment of the universal
means of persuasion (example, maxim
and enthymeme) in 2.20-22.
Chapter Eighteen
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Logical Proofs
– Catalogue of Common or General
Topics
– Transitional Summary
Chapter Nineteen
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Possible/Impossible (Deliberative)
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Contraries
Similarities
Degree (of difficulty; of excellence)
Sequence
That which we desire
The subjects of science or art
Things whose means of production is within our
power
Parts and wholes
Genus and species
Natural correspondences (quantities)
Artless vs. artful
Inferior vs. superior
Chapter Nineteen
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Past fact/Future fact (Forensic)
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Less to more likely
Precedence
Ability and motive
Intention
Antecedence and Consequence
[And likewise for the future]
Magnitude (Epideictic)
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...since in each branch of rhetoric the end set before
it is a good, such as the expedient, the noble, or the
just, it is evident that all must take the materials of
amplification from these. (2.19.27)
Chapter Twenty
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Inductive and Deductive Proofs
– Examples
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examples are of two kinds:
– historical and fictitious.
historical examples:
– pointing out that a situation from the past is
similar to a current situation, and that, therefore,
it's out come will likely also be similar
– e.g., "In the past when Eqypt was conquered it led
to all of Greece being conquered. Therefore, we
should not allow Egypt to be conquered."
Chapter Twenty
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Inductive and Deductive Proofs
– Examples
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examples are of two kinds:
– historical and fictitious.
fictitious examples
– a fable is a fictitious story with a moral. All fables
use a specific made up story to derive universal
conclusions (e.g., the tortoise and the hare).
– fictitious examples are easier to provide, but carry
less weight than historical examples.
– when examples are used alone as a means of
proof, we need to use many. When they support
a strong argument, they serve and a witness, and
one good example is sufficient.
Chapters Twenty-One
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Maxims
– a maxim is an opinion that is given as a piece
of advice, and which are usually pithy (brief).
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e.g., "Spare the rod and spoil the child." "Foolish to
kill the father and spare the child.”
controversial or paradoxical maxims need to be
supplemented by the speaker, while those that are
obvious can stand on their own almost as an
argument in themselves.
maxims are effect because they state as a universal
rule the opinions that many people typically already
hold on a particular subject.
Chapters Twenty-three - Twenty-Six
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Catalogue of Enthymemes
– Topics of Enthymemes
– Apparent Enthymemes
– Refutation
– Non-Enthymemes
Chapters Twenty-Two
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Enthymemes
– Aristotle describes the enthymeme as "a kind
of syllogism" or as a syllogism that is used in
rhetoric.
– Basically a syllogism is nothing a deductive
argument used in logic.
– A deductive argument is one in which a group
of statements (premises) lead to another group
of statements (conclusions)
– a conclusion is the statement or argument
designed to be supported or defended.
– premises are the starting points of an
argument. They are used to defend the
conclusion and are typically affirmed without
any defense.
Chapters Twenty-Two
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Some Examples of Enthymemes
– All mammals are warm blooded [premise 1].
– A whale is a warm blooded [premise 2].
– Therefore, a whale is a mammal [conclusion].
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Another for X-Files fans
– The earth is just one of many habitable planets
in our galaxy [premise 1].
– Life has evolved on earth [premise 2].
– Therefore it seems likely that life has evolved
on more than just this one [conclusion].
Chapters Twenty-Two
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Important to note that the difference
between the kind of argument that might
be used in logic (the syllogism) and the
kind of argument that is used in rhetoric
(the enthymeme) is that the latter can be
described as an abbreviated argument
– Because most audiences are usually not made
up of experts on the subject being discussed,
using long and complicated lines of reasoning
isn’t effective.As Aristotle emphasises
throughout Book II, a rhetor must adapt his
speech to his audience.
Chapters Twenty-Two
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Therefore enthymemes:
– they must be arguments about things
which are capable of being otherwise
than they are, and
– they must restrict the number of
premises that they use