1. Rhetoric (Write and Discuss) What is it? Where do we see it? What is its place in our culture? Why does it matter?

2. Rhetoric “Rhetoric is, as simply defined as possible, the art of persuasion: the attempt y one human being to influence another in words. It is no more complicated than that.” From Words Like Loaded Pistols by Sam Leith In different terms, rhetoric is hustling. Usually thought of in terms of formal oratory, but covers much more ground than that (Antony’s speech in Julius Caesar Like literature, rhetoric can be analyzed, broken into parts, and studied

3. Rhetoric It’s everywhere Very few statements are made on a day to day basis that are completely devoid of rhetoric Anytime words are used to persuade rhetoric is in play. Sometimes it’s obvious, but it’s much more insidious when it isn’t Rather than dealing with certainty (the area of philosophy) rhetoric deals with probability

4. Rhetoric Rhetoric has developed a negative connotation in our society “Mere rhetoric,” “only rhetoric,” “just rhetoric” But there is power in using and understanding rhetoric How many tyrants control their citizens by sheer physical force?

5. Corax and Tisias Thrasybulus was the tyrannical king of Syracuse (city state on the Island of Sicily) He was overthrown in 465 B.C. This left a power vaccuum. Corax steps in to start reinstituting a power structure and his understanding of rhetoric is key in this.

6. Corax and Tisias For pretty obvious reasons, rhetoric and law go hand in hand. Lawyers deal in rhetoric ALL THE TIME! Corax was essentially a lawyer and he took on a student named Tisias Once his teachings are complete Corax issues Tisias a challenge

7. Corax and Tisias Tisias takes his first case If he wins he has to pay Corax for his teachings If he loses the fee is waived because Corax must not have taught him that well Tisias decides to just avoid going to court altogether and Corax has to sue him

8. Corax and Tisias Corax argued that, regardless of the decision he would have to be paid. Either he won the case and would receive payment OR Tisias would win his first case which still clearly means that he owes the money.

9. Corax and Tisias Tisias argued that either Corax would win the case (meaning Tisias lost his first case and therefore not have to pay) OR he would defeat Corax (meaning he learned rhetoric DESPITE Corax rather than BECAUSE of him and therefore would not have to pay)

10. Corax and Tisias BAM! Rhetoric is born Clearly both men can’t be right, but because of their persuasive use of words both men appear to be right The judge through both men out saying, “Kakou korakas kakon oon” or “Bad crow, bad egg”

11. Gorgias and Democracy In 476 B.C. a man named Gorgias brought rhetoric to Athens and thus the world Athens was working on an experiment called democracy In Athens anyone could sue anyone and juries were made of up to 6,000 jury members People quickly learned that being a skilled speaker was the way to the top in a democratic government

12. Plato and Rhetoric Plato eventually slams rhetoric for not being concerned with the truth (paradoxically this is also what we call anti-rhetoric: another form of rhetoric Argued that rhetoric gave the upper hand to the deceitful and cunning rather than to the truly wise Distrusted democracy (Athenians voted to kill his teacher Socrates)

13. Excerpt from Plato’s Gorgias Socrates: [In the case of health] when the rhetorician is more persuasive than the physician, the ignorant is more persuasive with the ignorant than he who has knowledge? Is not that the inference? Gorgias: In the case supposed, yes. Socrates: And the same holds of the relation of rhetoric to all the other arts; the rhetorician need not know the truth about things; he has only to discover some way of persuading the ignorant that he has more knowledge than those who know?

14. Plato and Rhetoric This is a criticism at is often leveled at democracy I’ll let you decide what to think of that! All of this was taught to Aristotle, one of Plato’s star students who later went on to BETRAY HIM!

15. Aristotle Aristotle eventually starts the Lyceum This is the beginning of the formal study of Rhetoric It was a class that made him money! Aristotle, like a mathematecian, seeks to break down rhetoric to see the nuts and bolts of how it works The result is Aristotle’s Rhetoric; the Bible of all rhetorical study

16. Aristotle 3 Branches of oratory Judicial Epideitic Deliberative 3 Rhetorical Appeals Ethos Pathos Logos

17. Aristotle Eventually Aristotle passes the torch to the Roman Cicero Aristotle’s works get buried for a couple hundred years The Dark Ages come along and rhetoric is pretty much forgotten about But it’s kept alive in the Arabic world

18. Rhetoric (History) Eventually this work gets retranslated and makes it way back into western culture in the 1500s In education it becomes part of the trivium (Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric) As democracy spread throughout Europe and America in the late 18 th century Rhetoric regains its importance

19. Rhetoric (History) By the 1920’s rhetoric starts to fall out of fashion in education It’s been lying dormant ever since Still, we’re surrounded by rhetoric in our day to day lives If we don’t master rhetoric we leave the door open for rhetoric to master us

20. Five Parts of Rhetoric Many people have tried to break down speech writing in many different ways Instead of going with “beginning, middle, end” we’ll go with this model: Invention, Arrangement, Style, Memory, and Delivery