I. Rhetorical tradition: overview

A. technical rhetoric

B. sophistic rhetoric

C. philosophic rhetoric

D. Roman rhetoric

E. Middle Ages

F. Renaissance

G. Enlightenment

H. modern

II. Early Greek rhetorical theory

A. Technical rhetoric

1. roots of technical rhetoric

i. Greek city states

ii. all citizens considered equal

iii. citizens speak on own behalf

iv. freedom of speech

v. amateurism

2. emphasis of technical rhetoric

i. judicial oratory

ii. organization for courts of law

iii. techniques for success

iv. ornamentation

3. practice of technical rhetoric

i. Corax, Tisias, and others

a. taught orally

b. hypomnemata

ii. handbooks

a. preparation for Athenian courts

b. structure of judicial oratory

c. style

d. argument from probability

iii. Athenian law courts as entertainment

B. Sophistic rhetoric

1. purpose of sophistic rhetoric

i. misunderstood word today

ii. sophists

a. civic skills

b. success in citizenship

2. practice of sophistic rhetoric

i. imitation without conceptualization

ii. sophists concentrated on success in civic life

iii. listening to speeches

a. imitation

b. memorization

3. practitioners

i. Gorgias (c. 480-375 B.C.E.)

a. stylistic schemata

1) rhythm

2) antithetical structure

3) magic in speech

i) stylistic devices stir passions

ii) stylistic devices work magic

b. Gorgias also taught

1) ontology

2) epistemology

ii. Isocrates (436-338 B.C.E.)

a. native ability sharpened by training

b. moral character of the rhetor

c. sought to establish virtue and justice

1) study and practice of speech improves people

2) rhetoric is amoral

3) only speakers are good or bad

4) the young must emulate good models

d. edited and polished speeches

III. The contributions of Plato and Aristotle

A. Plato’s objections to rhetoric

1. roots

i. Socrates and Plato

ii. monolithic truth

2. Dialogs challenging rhetoric

i. Plato's Gorgias and Socrates's objections

a. Perversion of truth

b. Lack of definition

c. Flattery vs. true arts

1) Flatteries give us/audience what we want

i) cosmetics

ii) cookery

iii) rhetoric

2) True arts give us/audience what we need

i) gymnastic

ii) medicine

iii) philosophy (dialectic)

ii. Plato's Phaedrus

a. overview

1) parable of love

2) effort to define false and true love

3) effort to define false and true rhetoric

b. false rhetoric and false love

1) how a false lover treats his beloved

i) weakens

ii) makes dependent

iii) possesses the beloved

2) how false rhetoric treats the audience

i) nourishes the ignoble

ii) prevents knowledge

iii) damages the audience

c. the challenge to a true rhetoric

1) behavior of the true lover

i) nourishes the noble

ii) restrains the ignoble

iii) works for maturity

2) function of true rhetoric

i) seeks benefit and welfare of audience

ii) creates knowledge in audience

iii) helps audience comprehend truth

iv) incidental example of true rhetoric: Apology

a) rhetoric/education elevates society

b) personal consequences not relevant: Socrates accepts death

3) Effort to define a possible philosophic rhetoric

i) knowledge of truth

ii) definitions of things

iii) nature of all kinds of souls

iv) classes of speeches

v) adapted to audiences

B. Aristotle’s (384-322 B.C.E.) response to Plato’s challenge

1. development of philosophic rhetoric

i. offshoot or counterpart of dialectic

ii. probabilities vs. certainties

2. definition: the faculty of discovering in any given case the available means of persuasion

i. situational

ii. adapted to audience

iii. amoral

3. argument by enthymeme

i. rhetorical syllogism

a. compared to classical syllogism

1) Socrates is a human.

2) All humans are mortal.

3) Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

b. sometimes a truncated syllogism

1) example

i) Socrates is a human

ii) Therefore Socrates is mortal.

2) omitted premise is in the audience

i) however, definition oversimplified

ii) enthymeme appeals to audience values, beliefs, attitudes, emotions

ii. about probabilities, not certainties

iii. appeal to audience

4. kinds of proof

i. artistic proof

a. logos

1) enthymemes

2) examples

3) maxims

b. pathos

c. ethos

ii. nonartistic proof

a. laws

b. evidence of free witnesses

c. contracts

d. evidence of slaves

e. oaths

5. kinds of oratory/rhetoric and topoi classified by role of audience

i. audience as judges

a. forensic

1) courtroom

2) past

3) subjects

i) incentives

ii) states of mind

iii) kinds of persons

b. deliberative

1) legislature

2) future

3) subjects

i) ways and means

ii) war and peace

iii) defense

iv) imports

v) legislation

4) objects

i) happiness

ii) the good

5) contexts

i) democracy

ii) oligarchy

iii) aristocracy

iv) monarchy

ii. audience as spectators: epideictic

a. ceremonial praise and blame

b. past and future

c. later, recent times, characterized as rhetoric of social control

d. content

1) virtues

2) amplification

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