Rhetoric Test #2

What were Cicero's Canons of Rhetoric? And how were they similar to Aristotle's ideas?

Cicero came up with five cannons of rhetoric. They are invention, arrangement, expression, delivery, and memory. Invention is the creation of the arguments and of the speech. Arrangement is how the arguments in the speech are distributed and used throughout the speech. Expression is the language used in the arguments and speech. Memory is having the speech memorized because back then they didn't use paper and everything was delivered orally without notes. Delivery is the control of the voice and body. They are similar to Aristotle's ideas because he was known for rhetorical setting and rhetorical proofs which go with the invention aspect of Cicero's canons. Aristotle Rhetoric talks about delivery, style, and arrangement. So Cicero's canons can really be seen as an extension of that.

What was the view of "truth" to the sophists?

Sophists believed that truth was relative, that it meant different things to different people at different times and places. They believed that the truth was something that was more socially constructed, not something that was absolute. There was never one truth, but always many different versions.

Quintilian said rhetoric was a Good Citizen, Speaking Well, what does this mean?

This means that Quintilian viewed a rhetor as someone who didn't just use persuasion but that they were a good citizen who used rhetoric for the betterment of society (Rome). He said that they must be conservative and honorable and be educated in rhetoric, that they have been through practice and careful instruction.

What is a fallacy? What did Aristotle think of the use of fallacies?

A fallacy is an unsound/misleading argument. Aristotle warned about fallacies saying that they were seemingly valid arguments/enthymemes but were actually invalid. An example of this is a bandwagon fallacy. This argument would be something like, "everyone already does this, so it should be illegal." It's appealing to the idea that because it's popular it should be done, or you should do it too.

Do you think sophists exist today? explain through example

Advertisers and politicians are examples of people who could be considered modern day sophists. They could be considered this because they put emphasis on playing into the emotions of the audience and also typically don't reveal the entire truth, but their favorable version of it. These are all characteristics of sophists. For example, a car advertisement will typically rely heavily on convincing the audience through emotion by showing a commercial about how the car kept one's family/loved ones safe instead of listing out facts about the cars (ethos and logos). FINISH THIS ONE

What is an enthymeme? What proof does it relate to?

An enthymeme can be thought of as a rhetorical syllogism. A syllogism is a form of deductive reasoning. It can be thought of like this: If p then q. p. Therefore q. Or in words like this (Aristotle said this) All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore Socrates is mortal. For a syllogism to be an enthymeme it has to be constructed with the audience in mind. This means that it has to engage the audience's emotions and beliefs. Another factor to whether or not something is an enthymeme is if it is democratic. This means that it has awareness of the audience's values which makes it democratic in its approach because democracy is focused on the citizens.

How was Cicero similar and different from Aristotle?

Aristotle and Cicero were similar in the ideas of invention and discovery. Cicero has five canons of rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, delivery, and memory. Invention and Aristotle's rhetorical proofs and idea of the enthymeme are related because invention is about the construction of the argument and an argument is constructed of ethos, pathos, and logos, along with arguments which are constructed of enthymeme. Aristotle also briefly talked about delivery and said that it was something that was natural and not really taught, and Cicero covers delivery as one of his five canons.

How does Aristotle attempt to reconcile the ideas of the Sophists and Plato?

Aristotle looked at both the ideas of the Sophists and Plato and pulled from both of them and defined Rhetoric in a way that it had never been defined as before. He defended the Sophists view of Rhetoric as a techne, whereas Plato had argued against that view in his dialogue Gorgias. He claims that rhetoric is a techne because it seeks to find the available means of persuasion, so therefore it studies something specific that isn't covered in any rotpher technique. It studies persuasion. He then defends Plato's criticism of word magic as he warns to not persuade through the use of word magic. Another sophist idea that Aristotle promotes is the understanding and recognition of all sides of an argument.

How is dialogue different from Rhetoric?

Aristotle redefined rhetoric in his book Rhetoric, and along with this came dialogue. Aristotle wrote that "rhetoric is the counterpart of dialectic". Rhetoric is used to address a specific topic to a large audience of non-experts on the topic whereas dialogue is used to answer general questions to a small audience that are experts on the topic. Dialogue involves question and answer (hence the name) while rhetoric is a speech. It also uses syllogism whereas rhetoric uses enthymeme.

Why was Athens such a great place for Rhetoric to start?

Athens was such a great place for Rhetoric to start because of one major change that was happening: they were moving from aristocracy to democracy. This change to democracy created a city-state that allowed free male citizens to have a say in the politics of the state. Men were able to speak freely in public assemblies and courts. This created a space for rhetoric to be used because then men began employing the power of rhetoric in courts and public assemblies and this impacted anyone from people of high power all the way down to the general public that couldn't have a say in politics (slaves, non-citizens, and women).

What was Cicero's addition to the study of humor?

He was one of the first people to write about humour in the rhetorical aspect. We believe that Aristotle wrote about humour but that writing is lost somewhere. Cicero provided orators with guidance on the topic of humour. He told them that they need to maintain dignity when using it and that they must respect the audience. This means paying attention to topics that the audience will be sensitive to. He identifies different sources of humour such as wit, stories, and mimicking. Any humour needs to be audience-centered.

What does Longinus add to the understanding of rhetoric?

He wrote On the Sublime. This is seen as one of the earliest applications of rhetorical theory to literary criticism. In this book, Longinus focuses on the emotional power of words. He is to Gorgias what Cicero is to Aristotle, meaning that Cicero's work was greatly influenced by Aristotle, and Longinus was the Roman version of Gorgias because of his focuses on language and it's power and poetry. NEED MORE FOR THIS ONE

Who were the main Sophists and how were their ideas similar and different?

The main Sophists were Gorgias, Protagoras, and Isocrates.

what was Plato's reaction to sophists?

Plato had a negative reaction to the sophists. He saw them as the lowest of the low. He saw them as manipulative and didn't like their view of the truth. He reacted to the sophists by writing dialogues. He wrote Gorgias, Phaedrus, and Sophist. Gorgias was about rhetoric's association with power. He analyzed rhetoric's relationship to the truth and whether or not rhetoric requires actual knowledge of a subject. Plato came to a general conclusion at the end of the dialogue that rhetoric is a knack and that it is dangerous. Phaedrus questions whether or not rhetoric can be a true art. These dialogues created almost like caricatures of the sophists, it was his way of giving his opinion of the sophist views of rhetoric and then he would give his opinion.

How was rhetoric used differently in Greece and the roman Republic/Empire?

Rhetoric was used differently in Greece and Rome based on the political systems that were in place. Greece went from being an aristocracy to a democratic city-state. Any male citizen could have a say in the politics of the country. Rome was a Republic, meaning that the focus was on that of the whole than on the individual citizen. For anyone to have a strong say in politics they needed to come from a wealthy and influential family. The main governing body of Rome was the Senate. For something to change in Rome, one had to make a strong persuasive argument to the Senate and then change was possible. Therefore, it was important to be proficient in persuasive speaking in order to have any political success.

Why were the Sophists so controversial?

The sophists were controversial because they questioned fundamental assumptions of Greek society, although there were many smaller things that caused controversy. Some of these reasons are that they taught for pay, they were foreigners, they were from outside the Hellenistic world and traveled, uncertainty surrounding the truth, and their view of justice was built around the notion of social agreement. Teaching for pay was controversial because Athenians saw that as unethical. Being a foreigner was frowned upon because they were viewed as outsiders to the Athenian society, and they often came with non-traditional ideas which goes with the third source of controversy, which was their being travelers and non-Hellenistic. Sophists believed that truth wasn't found in gods but that it came from a clash of arguments, which goes against Athenian belief. And lastly, they believed that law and mortality are social agreements, not dictated by kings or Gods, which goes against of the most foundational beliefs of Greek society.

What are the three proofs that Aristotle stated could be used to persuade an audience? Which proof did he think rhetors should rely on ?

The three proofs are ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is credability, whether or not one is credible to speak on a said topic. Pathos is emotions, it's how the speaker plays into the emotions of the audience, and logos is the logical elements of the arguments. Aristotle thought that logos was the one that rhetors should rely on because it was the best at revealing the truth and being transparent with the audience. THINK ABOUT BETTER EXPLANATION

What are the three rhetorical settings described by Aristotle?

The three rhetorical settings described by Aristotle are deliberative, epideictic, and forensic. Deliberative setting is speaking about the future, usually politically based about legislation and policy that is to occur in the future. Epideictic is ceremonical speaking that gives praise or blame to something. It is used at ceremonies such as funerals or things that commemorate events. Forensic speaking is speaking about things that happened in the past. This is typically used with things like court cases.

What is the relationship of Word Magic to Sophistry?

Word Magic is something that came from Gorgias, who was a sophist. One of the defining characteristics of Gorgias was his ability to persuade people. Gorgias developed the concept of "word magic," which is using the sounds of words to manipulate and capture the audience. Gorgias used rhetorical devices including metaphors, allegory, and cateachresis. He also had a high interest in anthesis. He is famous for saying that he could make from words, slaves of men. This is related to sophistry because the sophists were known to use extravagant language, and word magic is the use of extravagant language.