ENGL / COMM 4103: RHETORIC & PERSUASION Scholasticism, Humanism, and Peter Ramus

Scholasticism  A late medieval worldview:  Hugh of Saint-Victor: “Learn everything... Later you will see that nothing is superfluous.”  The seven liberal arts “restore God’s image in us.”  The University of Paris was the epicenter of the scholastic movement.  Scholasticism became closely associated with the Church.  Scholasticism was driven by a re-discovery of Aristotle’s work:  Puts reason to work defending the articles of faith.  Richard Tarnas: “Aristotle’s philosophy was regarded as the greatest achievement of the natural human reason working without the benefit of Christian inspiration.

Thomas Aquinas  13 th Century priest, philosopher, and theologian  Attempted to reconcile pagan philosophy and science to Christian thought.  Associated faith with reason  “Faith transcends reason, but is not opposed by it.”  Richard Tarnas: “[Aquinas believed] a rational exploration of the physical world could disclose its inherent religious value.”  The Aristotelian corpus was virtually elevated to the status of Christian dogma.

Classical Humanism  Differed from Scholasticism:  Scholasticism: Logic, science, Aristotle, reconciling pagan philosophy to Christian doctrine. Theological precision Scientific knowledge of the natural world.  Humanism: Classical texts are valuable apart from Christianization. Classical culture viewed as “a source for the deepening and enrichment of the human spirit.” Classical learning as an alternative source of moral and ethical truth. Psychological, humanist, aesthetic Not necessarily opposed to Christian thought. Emphasized individual capacity and potential.

Humanism & Rhetoric  Humanism & Language  Grace and clarity of expression emblematic of the grace and clarity of the soul.  Literary disciplines take on a spiritual dimension.  Focused on the recovery of classical languages and texts, especially Plato.  Devoted to the classical use of language – concerned with purity of expression and preferred classical Latin to medieval (church) Latin.

Peter Ramus  Born into impoverished, but noble family (1515).  Attended College de Navarre.  His thesis attacked Aristotelian logic:  “All things that Aristotle has said are inconsistent because they are poorly systematized.”  Took a royal appointment to teach at the College de France.

Peter Ramus  His anti-scholastic stance:  His rhetoric texts were banned from the University of Paris curriculum.  His rhetoric texts were also publicly burned.  Out humanist-s the humanists:  Denies the importance of classical languages (calling such study a waste).  Rejects the necessity of historical contexts.  Emphasizes the power of the individual to make meaning of the world without relying on the wisdom or knowledge of the past.

“But the writings of these scholars reveal that while they indeed collected a lot of material, they did not evaluate it sufficiently, for in some places I look in vain or a syllogism” (682) Arguments in Rhetoric...

“I assert indeed that such a definition [as Quintilian’s definition of an orator] seems to me to be useless and stupid” (683) Arguments in Rhetoric...

“For although I admit that rhetoric is a virtue, it is virtue of the mind and the intelligence... whose followers can still be men of the utmost moral depravity. Nor is rhetoric a moral virtue... so that whoever possesses it is incapable of being a wicked man” (685) Arguments in Rhetoric...

Arguments in Rhetoric against Quintilian  Primary Argument: “[T]he arts of dialectic and rhetoric have been confused by Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian” (681)  Quintilian’s error was in assuming rhetoric has something to say about all areas of knowledge.  According to Ramus, rhetoric serves no epistemic function.  Associating moral philosophy with rhetoric is at the root of Quintilian’s errors. “Is he who knows what is honest and just, himself honest and just?” (685). No theoretical treatment of rhetoric has ever explained how rhetoric should deal with morality or ethics; therefore, morality and ethics should remain in the province of philosophy, not rhetoric.

Arguments in Rhetoric against Quintilian  Ramus’ division of rhetoric and dialectic:  There are two natural gifts particular to man 1. Reason: Dialectic (or logic) relates to reason Invention, arrangement, and memory are primarily activities of reason and judgment; therefore, Invention, arrangement, and memory belong to dialectic, not rhetoric. 2. Speech: Grammar and Rhetoric relate to speech Delivery and style are primarily linguistic activities; therefore, Delivery and style belong to rhetoric; furthermore, The other canons should not be associated with rhetoric.