Aristotle's Rhetoric

There's been some discussion on the listserv about the quizzes, so this week I thought I'd blog about the quiz questions for each reading. Today I'll blog about Chapter 21, The Rhetoric. Later in the week I'll blog about the other two chapters.

Here are some key points you should know about Chapter 21:

The Sophists were early Athenian public speaking teachers who took a practical approach but had not theoretical foundation. Aristotle envisioned rhetoric as an art and a science. An enthymeme is a deductive argument that omits a premise.

The canon of rhetoric that includes topoi is invention. Speaker credibility is related to Aristotle's notion of ethos. Ethos includes perceived intelligence, virtuous character, and good will. Metaphor is a key component of style, one canon or rhetoric. Aristotle originally listed four canons of rhetoric; later writers added a fifth, memory.

Aristotle's golden mean includes making truthful statements, self-disclosing, and displaying courage. Aristotle's Rhetoric has been criticized because he viewed the audience as passive.

Those points should get your started in studying Chapter 21 for this week's quiz.

~ Professor Cyborg