Chapter 1: Thinking Rhetorically Flashcards

Vocabulary terms and key concepts covering ethical communication and rhetorical thinking from Chapter 1.

Rhetoric

The art, theory, and practice of ethical communication and persuasion.

Wayne Booth

A scholar and critic who characterized rhetoric as an ethical art that begins with intense listening and seeks mutual understanding and common ground as an alternative to violence and war.

Aristotle's View on Rhetoric

The principle that people must understand rhetoric both to deliver their own ethical messages and to recognize and resist unethical messages used by others.

Kenneth Burke's Parlor Metaphor

An analogy from The Philosophy of Literary Form comparing rhetorical engagement to entering a room late, listening to an ongoing heated conversation, catching the tenor of the argument, and then putting in your oar.

Rhetorical Listening

A concept dubbed by rhetorician Krista Ratcliffe defined as opening oneself to the thoughts of others and making the effort to take in and fully understand their perspectives.

Julia Blount

A middle school teacher who called for rhetorical listening and exposure to unfamiliar perspectives in a post regarding the 2015 Baltimore uprisings after the death of Freddie Gray.

Cicero

An ancient Roman thinker who argued that considering alternative points of view and counterarguments is key to making a successful argument.

Sean Blanda

Blogger who wrote The Other Side Is Not Dumb, warning that social media echo chambers lead people to foolishly assume those with different worldviews are dumb.

Ethos

An author's credibility or character, which is built by acknowledging sources, doing thorough research, and showing respect for the audience and existing work.

Isaac Newton

Physicist who demonstrated rhetorical ethics in a 1676 letter to Robert Hooke by crediting Hooke and René Descartes, stating he saw further by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Watson and Crick's DNA Report

A landmark 1953 paper in Nature that made intentional rhetorical choices, such as using cautious language and polite phrasing, to present their double-helix model persuasively to scientists.

Rosalind Franklin

A contemporary female scientist whose work greatly influenced Watson and Crick's DNA discovery, though Watson and Crick failed to sufficiently acknowledge or credit her.

Jacqueline Jones Royster

Rhetorician and author of When the First Voice You Hear Is Not Your Own, who argued for listening as a way to exchange perspectives, negotiate meaning, and enable necessary cooperation.