2/3/2016
Classical Rhetoric
Everything we need to know
about rhetoric, we learned from
Ancient Greece
Focus:
Sophists/Sophistry
Aristotle’s definition of rhetoric
Modes of rhetorical proof
Artistic and inartistic
Back in the days of the Sophists….
5 BC Ancient Greece Roman Empire
• Taught philosophy and rhetoric
Sophistēs meaning “wise-ist,” one who "does"
wisdom, one who makes a business out of
wisdom (sophós means "wise man")
• Claim: Teaching “excellence” or
“virtue”
• Traveled from city to city making
public displays to attract students
Back in the days of the Sophists….
5 BC Ancient Greece Roman Empire
• Condemned:
– Charged a fee for their education
– Used rhetoric to manipulate, rather
than to discover truths
• Make the weaker argument the stronger
Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, etc. disagreed:
Rhetoric is essential to discovery of
TRUTHS.
Sophists are greedy: Using language
and rhetoric to deceive
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2/3/2016
Back in the days of the Sophists….
5 BC Ancient Greece Roman Empire
• Condemned:
– Charged a fee for their education
– Used rhetoric to manipulate, rather
than to discover truths
• Make the weaker argument the stronger
• Sophistry – negative connotation
“Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds
—Plato
of men.”
soph·ist·ry [sof-uh-stree]
noun, plural soph·ist·ries
1. a subtle, tricky, superficially
plausible, but generally
fallacious method of
reasoning.
2. a false argument; sophism.
“Abuse of words has been the great
instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of
party, faction, and division of society.”
–John Adams
Dictionary.com
Rhetoric…
… is a human art or skill
Aristotle sez…
Rhetoric:
“The faculty of observing
in any given case the
available means of
persuasion.”
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How do you PROVE something?
Every speech must contain both
Artistic proofs
Inartistic proofs
things which the things that exist
speaker creates in (are “there”):
the audience
Facts, statistics,
Ethos Inventio
Pathos Dispositio
Logos Elocutio
Memoria
Actio
oaths, documents,
contracts,
constitutions, etc.
Artistic proofs
ethos - personal appeals
pathos - emotional appeals
logos - logical appeals
Inartistic proofs
Laws
Contracts
Witnesses
Tortures
Oaths
Statistical surveys
Experiments
Government documents
Photographs
Artistic proofs
ethos
pathos
logos
"The US Census has been reporting for some time that
fifty percent of all marriages will end in divorce."
"Turn and look at the person sitting next to you. One
of the two of you will likely get a divorce."
"Because one out of every two marriages here in the
United States ends in divorce, it is imperative we
reform the court system to be fair to both men AND
women."
“One out of every two marriages ends in divorce.”
“The U.S. Census reports that half of all marriages end in divorce. That
means that one out of every two marriages are not successful.
It could be yours; it could be the person's sitting next to you.
And, if you are a woman, your chances of a fair settlement are far
lower than if you are a man.
Therefore, we must reform our court system.“
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The Rhetorical Triangle
ethos
logos
pathos
Ethos
A demonstration of
the speaker’s:
 Intelligence
 Integrity
 Goodwill
How Ethos is communicated
Intrinsic
contained in the speech text
(what is said during the speech
to convince the audience of the
speaker’s credibility)
Extrinsic
results from the qualities
of the speaker him/herself
(appearance, reputation,
enthusiasm, etc.)
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Pathos – appeal to emotion
Purpose of emotional proofs is to
involve the audience’s feelings
and to call upon their sympathies
SEX
APPEAL
Logos – appeal to logic
Creating a sense of reasoning
in the audience
Two types of logical proof:
• Exposition - arguing by
definition & example (evidence)
• Argumentation - an argument
in its formal sense (reasoning)
Processing Time!
• Why does sophistry have such a
negative connotation?
• What is the difference between Aristotle’s
artistic and inartistic proofs?
• Which of Aristotle’s three modes
of proof do you think is the most
important?
• How can you increase the likelihood that
your audience will perceive you as having
good ethos?
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