While Aristotle’s approach to rhetoric informed rhetorical training in the European tradition to varying degrees, rhetorical scholars in the twentieth century became particularly interested in his theories. By considering them while we are composing a document or preparing a presentation, we can increase the likelihood that our audience will be persuaded by our own message. Analyzing a persuasive message using these tools can give us insight ultimately into whether the message is actually persuasive or not. The modes of appeal are distinct ways of engaging an audience, and are particularly useful for evaluating others’ messages as well as for helping us carefully design our own messages. Second, by referring to the “available means of persuasion,” Aristotle points to what are also known as the three modes of appeal: ethos, pathos, and logos. Otherwise, a potential audience could risk being misled by an uninformed opinion expressed by a particularly charismatic speaker or writer. Because some people have a knack for persuasion-others seem to accept their ideas even when those ideas are not very good ones-we all need to hone our persuasive skills in order to help our audience accept our message. Thus, he anticipates this question by describing rhetoric as a technē (pronounced “TEKH -nay,”) that is, as an art or skill with rules that can be learned (Kennedy, 1991, p. This definition is important for our purposes for two reasons.įirst of all, if we’re not naturally charismatic, we may ask ourselves, “can I learn to be persuasive?” Aristotle observes that some people are persuasive by nature, while others develop the skill through study and practice. In this textbook, we focus on the European tradition of rhetoric, which began to be documented in Athens in the fifth century BCE, and which has continued to be studied, developed, and applied for nearly two and a half millennia.Īccording to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE), rhetoric is an art through which one can develop “an ability, in each case], to see the available means of persuasion” (Kennedy, 1991, p. Because we are so frequently using persuasion-whether we’re attempting to secure a job, trying to persuade a family member or colleague to help us with a difficult task, or even hoping to convince a friend to accept our opinion-the ability to be persuasive is crucial for success in both our professional and personal life.īecause persuasion is a universal human activity, complex rhetorical traditions have developed among cultures throughout the world. Second, studying the art of rhetoric can help us communicate more effectively. By considering the principles of rhetoric, we can isolate elements of an act of persuasion in order to have a clearer understanding of how reasonable a message is. Additionally, the way we perceive the information as fitting in with our beliefs about the nature of reality can have an effect. As humans, we often come to accept an idea about the world not only on the basis of available evidence, but also because of our trust in the source of the information. Since any type of communication can be created with the intention of influencing opinions or behaviours, rhetorical principles can be found in speeches, written documents, images, films, and even gestures and other non-verbal modes of expression.īy studying rhetorical principles, and their use by the authors of different types of communication, we can cultivate two important skills: recognizing how we are persuaded and using those tools to persuade others for our own professional purposes.įirst, we can develop a clearer understanding of how we are persuaded to believe the messages we find convincing. Rhetoric, defined most broadly, is the art of persuasion. If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, the art of rhetoric might help you understand exactly what happened. Have you ever had a discussion about a controversial matter, after which you changed your opinion? Have you ever had an argument with a friend or family member that resulted in either you or the other person more aggressively defending a position that became less defensible as the argument progressed? Have you ever found yourself carried away by someone’s bad idea, only to ask yourself later, “What was I thinking?!”
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