THREE SCHOOLS OF ATHENIAN RHETORIC

Aristotle B.C. Plato B.C. Socrates B.C.

The Three Schools of Athenian Rhetoric Socratean Rhetoric, founded school in 393 B.C. As a response to the Sophists Intellectuals who taught philosophy and the art of persuasion (or deception), for a fee Socrates did not charge for his tutelage Sophists are accredited as being the first lawyers Instrumental in shaping Athenian democracy Socrates

A sophisticated approach?

The Three Schools of Athenian Rhetoric Socratean Rhetoric The Practical Educational Approach Removed manipulative rhetoric from his educational program Rhetoric which serves unification and consensus Seeks to build relationships where both parties win “In the hands of Isocrates rhetoric is gradually transformed into ethics” Marrou (1956) Interested in tackling moral concepts the virtues of piety, wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice Socrates

The Three Schools of Athenian Rhetoric The Socratic method A debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints Based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas A method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions Socrates

The Three Schools of Athenian Rhetoric Plato’s Academy, founded in 385 B.C. The Moral Philosophical Approach In the service of absolute truth Plato was an elitist, believing that rhetoric could only serve best in the realm of philosophers, who had discovered divine, ultimate truths The enlightened few were to use rhetoric to lead the unenlightened masses toward those truths Plato

The Three Schools of Athenian Rhetoric In his work Phaedrus Plato provides an ethical framework for acceptable rhetoric The non-lover model: Shows no affection for the object of its symbolizing and therefore incapable of inducing bias The evil-lover model: making the beloved inferior to himself. Motivated by selfish appetite and desire for exploitation. The noble-lover model: This, of course, is the model that Plato offers as the framework for an ethical rhetoric. The noble lover strives to improve his beloved. Plato

The Three Schools of Athenian Rhetoric Aristotle’s Lyceum, founded in 335 B.C. Philosophical Scientific Approach Devises system for applying rhetoric: Three Means of Persuasion (logos, pathos, and ethos) Three Genres of Rhetoric (deliberative, forensic, and epideictic) Rhetorical topics Parts of speech Effective use of style Aristotle

The Three Schools of Athenian Rhetoric His treatise, The Art of Rhetoric A speaker or writer has three ways to persuade his audience: Ethos (appeal to the speaker’s character) Pathos (appeal to emotion) Logos (appeal to logic) He believed Logos was superior, ideally all arguments should be won or lost on reason alone Errors in reasoning are easy to make These errors are called logical fallacies Aristotle

The Three Schools of Athenian Rhetoric Formal Logical Fallacies Aristotle was a big fan of formal syllogisms A formal fallacy in syllogisms occurs whenever the structure of the argument itself is flawed and renders it invalid. All men are mortal. Socrates is mortal. Therefore, Socrates is a man. Just because Socrates is mortal, doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a man Aristotle

Political Weight and Fallacies