boswell rhetoric

pedant’s stance

focuses on the subject and ignores the audience

audience

right corner of the rhetorical triangle

• who is reading/listening? where? how? when?

• who is the intended audience? primary (supporters and opponents) and secondary (overhears)

subject/topic

left corner of the rhetorical triangle

• what kind of subject is it?

• what is its scope?

• how is it complex?

connection between rhetor and subject

appeal by logos 

connection between rhetor and audience

appeal by ethos

connection between audience and subject 

appeal to pathos

5 canons of rhetoric

• invention

• arrangement

• style

• memory

• delivery

RTW aristotle

• rhetoric can be helpful or harmful, but inherently favors moral arguments

• rhetoric, which persuades, is the counterpart to dialectic, which is to be used in private to seek truth

• in the reading, aristotle classifies more than he argues 

RTW plato

• decisions should be made on wisdom and not argument, as arguments sway the truth

• rhetoric is the art of persuasion in courts and other assemblies

RTW booth

rhetorical stance is the balance of the rhetorical triangle. the three incorrect approaches to rhetoric:

• pedant’s stance: ignores audience and overemphasizes the subject

• advertiser’s stance: sacrifices substance for effect, fpcuses on audience and underemphasizes subject

• entertainer’s stance: prioritizes personality and charm over the message and audience relationship

definition of rhetoric (aristotle)

the faculty of discerning in any given case the available means of persuasion

definition of rhetoric (plato)

the artificer of persuasion

advertiser’s stance 

sacrifices substance for effect, focuses on audience and underemphasizes subject

entertainer’s stance

willingness to sacrifice substance for personality and charm (distracting jokes, etc.)

3 aristotelian appeals

• ethos (character)

• pathos (emotion)

• logos (logic and reasoning)

rhetor

top corner of the rhetorical triangle

• who is the speaker/writer?

  • experience, class, job, education, values, location, ethnicity, gender, age, race, religion, political affiliation

invention (canon)

• 1st canon

• generating an argument

• finding ideas that already exist

• ex. stasis theory

arrangement (canon)

• 2nd canon

• order in which material is presented

• significantly impacts arguments success

• ex. components of a classical argument

style (canon)

• 3rd canon

• complexity of language

• infinite possibilities to express an argument

• ex. chiasmus 

memory (canon)

• 4th canon

• retain the content of a speech

  • applies only to verbal arguments

• memory techniques

  • ex. mnemonic devices, memory palace

delivery (canon)

• 5th canon

• oral delivery techniques 

  • volume, speed, tone

• visual presentation

exigence

aka kairos

• “so what”

• importance

  • why does it matter?

• timeliness

  • why does it matter now?

• can be intrinsic (audience may need to be educated more, rhetor must develop importance within the piece) or extrinsic (audience will recognize importance, lies outside of arguments)

modes of discourse (genres of writing and speech)

• narration

• description

• persuasion

• exposition

narration (mode)

• storytelling

• chronological (time)

• used with other rhetorical strategies or alone

description (mode)

• sense perception, imagery

• spatial

• background, foreground

exposition (mode)

• examples

• process analysis

• classification

• compare/contrast

• definition

• cause/effect

persuasion (mode)

argument

• forensic, deliberative, epideictic

forensic discourse 

• judicial

• issues of blame/justice

• past tense

deliberative discourse

• legislative 

• issues of policy and choice

• future tense 

epideictic/demonstrative discourse

• ceremonial

• issues of values: virtures and vice

• praise and blame

• present tense 

syllogism

statement of logical reasoning with major premise, minor premise, and conclusion

• fallacies:

  • formal fallacy: if one of the premises is not true

  • inductive reasoning: arguing from particulars and universals, can’t be 100% proved. viable, but doesn’t rise to same level of logical reasoning

enthymeme

two part argument where one or more premise is left unsaid

• more effective because audience uses their own knowledge to fill in the gap, participants in their own persuasion.

components of a classical argument

• exordium (introduction)

• narratio (narration)

• partitio (division)

• proposito (proposition)

• confirmatio / refutatio

• peroratio (conclusion)

exordium 

introduction, shorter, the initial opening, often includes ethos

narratio

statement of facts + background

partitio

summary of arguments to make, scholarly roadmap for audience

proposito

thesis, argument

confirmatio / refutatio

confirmation (proof) or refutation (logos) - evidence and counterarguments

peroratio

conclusion, includes pathos

• call to action

• future actions

• historical parallels

• urge continued conversation

stasis theory

invention strategy to help you decide where to stand, where to enter argument, where you agree/disagree

5 stases

• fact/definition

• cause/effect

• value/evaluation

• action

• jurisdiction

fact/definition (stasis)

• does it exist? 

• what is it?

• how do we define it?

cause/effect (stasis)

• what causes x?

• what are the consequences of x?

values/evaluation (stasis)

• is x therefore a good or bad thing?

• are the benefits of x worth the cost?

action (stasis)

• what should we do about x?

• should we implement x?

jurisdiction (stasis)

• who decides what we should do about it?

quintilian

only a good man can be an orator; an orator’s aim is to carry conviction and we trust those only whom we deem to be worthy of it

cicero

• invented 5 canons of rhetoric 

• goals:

1. stimulate audience emotion

2. change their minds

3. get them to act