Aristotle

Rhetoric as we know it owes most of its foundations to Aristotle. Aristotle studied under Plato and greatly respected his teacher. However, he had a few notable oppositions to his master’s theories and after weathering Plato’s absolutist tirades for years, he came to his own set of conclusions. Aristotle wasn’t quite as polarized as the other philosophers. The Sophists though that truth was completely relative, not absolute and that the only thing they could do was come to a consensus and craft the “better allusion.” Plato believed in only one truth that was permanent and unchanging and unknowable to some. Aristotle believed in “probable truth,” which put him somewhere in the middle of the two other schools; truth could never really be certain, but there were things we could do to come to the best answer for any given situation. Unlike the Sophists, Plato believed that we can find probable truth and communicate it. In order to arrive at an appropriate conclusion, Aristotle encouraged the development of rhetorical skill. He, like the sophists, considered rhetoric to be an art, useful for the development of good character. He also believed in equal opportunity and opened up a school that admitted everyone who wanted to study rhetoric.

Aristotle developed several rhetorical concepts and devices to help the rhetorician come to the best answer. He liked to view the world systematically, slowly and step by step, and he liked to categorize…a lot. He split speeches into three categories- epideictic, deliberative and forensic- which we will examine later. He established three “appeals” for successful rhetoric as well, pathos (emotions), ethos (credibility, which has its own three subdivisions- sagacity, good will, and character- also to be explained), and logos (logic), which we will also examine later. Aristotle also listed several devices to improve rhetoric. All of these are quite long and drawn out individually, so we’ll flesh them out in another post.

Aristotle emphasized the relationship between the rhetor and the audience. He thought that the audience should be studied intensely and spoken to accordingly. From there, the rhetorician should decide which type of speech was appropriate for the occasion, which appeals to use, when to say what, and how to say it. He liked rhetorical devices like metaphors and similes. Word choice, rhythm, and timing were crucial. Think of it this way; if you find out you’re speaking to an audience of very conservative people, you wouldn’t use coarse language or introduce radical ideas out of the blue. Aristotle knew that, and that’s why he found it so important to know your audience

In the meantime…

Take Away Points

• Middle ground (thank goodness)
• Lots of categories…and subcategories…and systems…and subsystems
• Liked rhetoric and considered it a teachable art form
• Believed in probable truth rather than completely relative or absolute
• Believed in coming to the best answer for any situation and doing so through rhetoric
• Equality and opportunity for all aspiring rhetoricians J
• Three Appeals- pathos, ethos (with sagacity, good will, and character), logos
• Three types of speeches- epideictic, deliberative, forensic
• Know your audience!

Although Aristotle isn't as "out there" as his contemporaries, he does have a rather daunting list of concepts attached to him. Next, we will break these down, and hopefully make them more manageable.