Rhetoric

Everyone has heard of a “rhetorical question” and Based on the definition of the word “argument,” one
some are aware of rhetorical devices, though if asked to can make the claim that anything expressed in language
define rhetoric most people wouldn’t know where to makes some assertion about the nature of reality. It is
start. Ironically, rhetoric is used by everyone every day, obvious that, ‘the sky is blue’ is an argument, but how
they just don’t know it. would something that’s not making an obvious assertion
In short, rhetoric is writing or speaking persuasively. be an argument? Well, the question “how are you” makes
1

Some rhetoricians consider their practice an a number of different arguments: That the “you”
art, since rhetoric cannot be taught in a this question refers to is capable of emotion, that
classroom; it needs to be rehearsed like a “Against that the “you” is capable of responding in some way to
musician would rehearse a song. This art
2 positivism the question and, simply, that the “you” exists in
requires viewing the world from a slightly which stops some form. These may be taken for granted, but
different perspective. While one might use before they are still arguments.
rhetoric in their respective field--in fact, phenomena, These arguments are present in anything
rhetoric is present in all texts--to persuade saying"there expressed in language and, as was stated above, a
others to believe whatever he or she believes are only facts," language is a system of communication.
to be the truth, some rhetoricians choose to I should say: Communication can happen in a number of ways,
put rhetoric before truth. In other words: no, it is most obviously through speech and writing, but
everything uses rhetoric. precisely facts images and objects also communicate.4 A bar of
Before we go any further, it is important that do not gold communicates its worth through its luster, a
to get some definitions down: exist, only piece of clothing communicates its use through its

interpretations shape, and a tree communicates its peacefulness
Language: A system of communication. .” through it’s smell. Because the physical world is a
Can be verbal or nonverbal (i.e. English - Friedrich system of communications, by definition, the
language, sign language, body language etc). Nietzsche 3
physical world is a language and because the
physical world is a language, everything we see,
Argument: An assertion about the nature of reality. hear, feel, smell and taste is an argument. Everything uses
rhetoric all the time.5

But before one Aim Why are you writing/speaking? To persuade the reader that
can engage in everything is an argument.
rhetoric, one To demonstrate rhetoric.
needs to be To get a good mark.
aware of
four Audience Who are you writing/speaking for? My philosophy class
things6: Ms. Hunnisett

Medium How is it being presented? PDF, handout, Facebook post

Subject What are you writing/speaking about? Rhetoric

Things




Questions



My Answers



These are your foundations, and each will dictate how you build your argument. To use
rhetoric effectively is to build your argument in such a way that will be the most persuasive.
Techniques used to persuade are called modes of persuasion or rhetorical devices. Remember all
those fallacies you learned about back in the logic unit? Most of them aren’t fallacies within the
context of rhetoric. While there are many modes of persuasion, the top three outlined by Aristotle
are7:


Ethos Also known as the “appeal to authority.” This is where you establish your
credibility. Credibility can be having a PhD after your name or appearing in a lab
coat. Citations are ethos. Aristotle believed that ancient sources were more reliable
than contemporary sources.
Ethos needs to be established in the text. A text does not gain ethos if a credible
third party endorses it.

Logos Logos is logic. Your argument needs to make sense to your audience or else it wont
be persuasive. In Aristotle’s ideal world, logic would be all that is needed to
persuade, yet he realized that people generally aren’t persuaded by logic alone.

Pathos The “appeal to emotion.” If someone doesn’t care about what you’re saying they
wont pay as much attention and your argument wont be as effective. The argument
needs to matter to your audience or else they wont listen.

There is one last thing that the rhetorician needs to be aware of if he or she wants his or
her text to be persuasive, and this is the kairos. Being aware of kairos simply means knowing the
opportune moment. In rhetoric, kairos is the current circumstances, whether cultural, political or
personal.8 It involves knowing your audience, but knowing them on a deeper level. For example,
regardless of whether your audience is one that will or will not take offense to swearing, if you
are standing at a podium in a formal setting, it is generally more persuasive not to swear. Kairos
is tricky because it works on a situation by situation basis. It is one of the reasons that the
rhetorician needs to rehearse, to learn to quickly become aware of the kairos of any given
situation.

Since rhetoric is something that needs to be practiced, it would be beneficial to analyze a
text rhetorically. I chose something I know all of you have read: the beginning of this handout.
First my ethos. I have to say I didn’t do very well with ethos. I have a Nietzsche quote which
suggests I’m well read. It would be better if those definitions were actual, cited dictionary
definitions. I do have citations though, which provides ethos. Next is the logos. I believed my
logos is fairly spot on. I use syllogisms: language is a system of communication > reality is a
system of communication > therefore, reality is a language. I didn’t break any of Aristotle’s
Laws of Thought. Lastly is pathos. Luckily most of the pathos is provided for me, as I have set it
up to appear that one needs to believe my argument to study rhetoric, and since, however briefly,
you are studying rhetoric, you should believe it if you want to get a good mark in this class. So
overall my ethos is as good as it could be for a school handout, but my logos and pathos were
good. This is as deep of a rhetorical reading as I’d like to do with this text.


Discussion Questions

1. Do you agree with the arguments presented in the first half of this handout (everything is an
argument, reality is a language, rhetoric comes before truth)? What philosophical idea(s)
would most accurately coincide with this belief?

2. Where in Malvern is rhetoric most prevalent? How do you use rhetoric to persuade your
teachers? How do your teachers use rhetoric to persuade you? How do you and your friends
use rhetoric amongst yourselves?

3. In Marshal McLuhan’s The Medium is the Massage, he proposes that there is an inherent
rhetoric in various mediums. How would you interpret this picture? What is the inherent
rhetoric of this medium (photograph with a
caption)?

4. In Plato’s Pheadrus, rhetoric is implicitly associated with seduction. What does this say about
Plato’s view on the nature of rhetoric? (getting a definition the word “seduction” will help with
this question)
5. Rhetorically analyze these advertisements. What is the aim? audience? subject? ethos? logos?
pathos? What arguments do they make? Are they effectively persuasive?
 Notes

1 Aristotle, "Rhetoric." The Works of Aristotle (Great Books of the Western World, Vol. 9). (W.D. Ross, Trans.)


Ed. Robert Maynard Hutchins. Chigaco: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc, 1952. Print.

2 Coffeen,D. (2008, March 31). Rhetoric 10: Lecture 1. Rhetoric 10 - Spring 2008: Introduction to Practical

Reasoning and Critical Analysis of Argument. Podcast retrieved from http://webcast.berkeley.edu/

course_details.php?seriesid=1906978535
3 Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm. The Portable Nietzsche. New York: Penguin, 1976. Print.

4 McLuhan, Marshall, Fiore Quentin, and Jerome Agel. The Medium is the Massage. Toronto, ON: Penguin Books,


1967. Print.

5 Coffeen, D. (2008, March 31). Rhetoric 10: Lecture 1. Rhetoric 10 - Spring 2008: Introduction to Practical

Reasoning and Critical Analysis of Argument. Podcast retrieved from http://webcast.berkeley.edu/

course_details.php?seriesid=1906978535

6 Olson, Annie. "Introduction to Rhetoric." LeTourneau University. LeTourneau University, 31 Jul 2003. Web. 4 Mar

2011. <http://www.letu.edu/people/annieolson/online/intro.html>.

7 Ibid.

8 Burton, Gideon. "Kairos." Silva Rhetoricae. Provo, UT: 2007. Web.

<http://rhetoric.byu.edu/encompassing%20terms/kairos.htm>.