Some Themes in Classical Greek Rhetoric

Greek Problems and Roman Problems

Ancient Greek communication problem:

Greek Problems and Roman Problems Ancient Greek communication problem: How citizens can arrive at collective judgment when they begin with different beliefs and interests and the right course of action is unknown

Greek Problems and Roman Problems Ancient Roman communication problem:

Greek Problems and Roman Problems Ancient Roman communication problem: How to transmit official declarations from the center to the periphery of a broad empire

The Sophists

Arrived in Ancient Greece (likely from what is now Italy) around 450 B.C.E.

The Sophists Arrived in Ancient Greece (likely from what is now Italy) around 450 B.C.E. Taught Athenian citizens the arts of persuasive speech for a fee

The Sophists Arrived in Ancient Greece (likely from what is now Italy) around 450 B.C.E. Taught Athenian citizens the arts of persuasive speech for a fee Flourished in the new democratic political culture which required that citizens speak in court, political assembly, and various special events

The Sophists Arrived in Ancient Greece (likely from what is now Italy) around 450 B.C.E. Taught Athenian citizens the arts of persuasive speech for a fee Flourished in the new democratic political culture which required that citizens speak in court, political assembly, and various special events— where good speech could mean the difference between power and powerlessness, life or death.

The Sophists A sophistic definition of rhetoric:

The Sophists A sophistic definition of rhetoric: “Rhetoric is the art which seeks to capture in opportune moments that which is appropriate and attempts to suggest that which is possible (Poulakos, 1983, p. 36).

The Sophists Opportune moments: The greek word is kairos– that which emerges with situated urgency in the Now. A distinct view of time, different in kind from chronos (mechanical clock time).

The Sophists The appropriate: The greek word is to prepon (that which is prudent or fitting for the time, place, and situation).

The Sophists The appropriate: The greek word is to prepon (that which is prudent or fitting for the time, place, and situation. The sophists taught a “culturally relativistic” rather than “absolutist” view of truth

The Sophists The appropriate: The greek word is to prepon (that which is prudent or fitting for the time, place, and situation. The sophists taught a “culturally relativistic” rather than “absolutist” view of truth: what is true and fitting for some would be inappropriate and false for others.

The Sophists The possible: “Unlike the actual, the possible is not a given which can be known or verified; it exists in the future as something incomplete and dormant, something awaiting the proper conditions to be realized” (Poulakos, 1984).

The Sophists The possible: “Unlike the actual, the possible is not a given which can be known or verified; it exists in the future as something incomplete and dormant, something awaiting the proper conditions to be realized” (Poulakos, 1984) Sophistic rhetoric, then, disrupts the status quo and articulates what might be.

The Sophists For many Athenian elites, the Sophists amplified the dangers inherent in democracy:

The Sophists For many Athenian elites, the Sophists amplified the dangers inherent in democracy: the power of artful speech to disrupt tradition and the threat of mob rule by “citizens” whose values were at odds with the aristocratic ideals.

Plato

Lived from 428 BCE- 348 BCE

Plato Lived from 428 BCE- 348 BCE “the European philosophical tradition…consists of a series of footnotes to Plato” (Alfred Whitehead)

Plato Responds to the Sophistic worldview:

Plato Responds to the Sophistic worldview: their democratic and relativistic world shaped by artful speech was for him a wasteland where conmen could convince fools to destroy the community and the laws and rules that sustained it.

Plato He demanded that speech articulate not what is possible but what is true.

Plato He demanded that speech articulate not what is possible but what is true. And what is truth, for Plato?

Plato He demanded that speech articulate not what is possible but what is true. And what is truth, for Plato? Accurate correspondence with the ideal view of things as they are in themselves.

Plato Plato may be described as both a conservative and a revolutionary

Plato Plato may be described as both a conservative and a revolutionary He recoils from democracy and the power of “the people” without status.

Plato He recoils from democracy and the power of “the people” without status But, he articulates a new model of selfhood, committed to a relentless quest for an intelligible grasp of truth, beauty, and justice in their purest forms.

Aristotle

Lived

Aristotle If the Sophists were concerned with the possible, and Plato was concerned with the ideal, Aristotle may be said to be concerned primarily with the actual

Aristotle If the Sophists were concerned with the possible, and Plato was concerned with the ideal, Aristotle may be said to be concerned primarily with the actual—he modeled a scientific attitude that sought to understand how things are in this present world.

Aristotle If the Sophists were concerned with the possible, and Plato was concerned with the ideal, Aristotle may be said to be concerned primarily with the actual—he modeled a scientific attitude that sought to understand how things are in this present world. So, he accepted and explained rhetoric as he found it in his world.

Aristotle Rhetoric is the art of seeing, observing, grasping the available means of persuasion in any situation.

Aristotle Three genres:

Aristotle Three genres: Forensic: Legal rhetoric concerned with justice regarding events in the past.

Aristotle Three genres: Forensic: Legal rhetoric concerned with justice regarding events in the past. Deliberative: Political rhetoric concerned with effective choices about things in the future

Aristotle Three genres: Forensic: Legal rhetoric concerned with justice regarding events in the past. Deliberative: Political rhetoric concerned with effective choices about things in the future Epideictic: Ceremonial rhetoric concerned with the identity of the community in the present.

Aristotle Three pisteis (forms of proof or faith or trust)

Aristotle Three pisteis (forms of proof or faith or trust) Ethos: The persuasiveness of the speaker’s character

Aristotle Three pisteis (forms of proof or faith or trust) Ethos: The persuasiveness of the speaker’s character Pathos: The persuasiveness of the audience’s moods

Aristotle Three pisteis (forms of proof or faith or trust) Ethos: The persuasiveness of the speaker’s character Pathos: The persuasiveness of the audience’s moods Logos: The persuasiveness of the speech’s reasoning

Aristotle Logos: The persuasiveness of the speech’s reasoning The Logos of Rhetoric deals, in Aristotle’s view, with what is probable.

Aristotle Logos: The persuasiveness of the speech’s reasoning The Logos of Rhetoric deals, in Aristotle’s view, with what is probable. We’d have no need to argue about what is necessary or what is impossible.

IN SUM Plato, Aristotle, and the Sophists all agreed that rhetoric is a central part of everyday life, that words are incredibly powerful, and that proper training in speech is essential to good citizenship

IN SUM Plato, Aristotle, and the Sophists all agreed that rhetoric is a central part of everyday life, that words are incredibly powerful, and that proper training in speech is essential to good citizenship…but they disagree fundamentally about the nature of the world and what counts as “proper” speech.

IN SUM In many ways, these ancient views continue to shape contemporary debates about what forms of communication are effective and appropriate.

IN SUM In many ways, these ancient views continue to shape contemporary debates about what forms of communication are effective and appropriate and how to deal with the potential dangers of diverse speaking publics.