Deck 2: Rhetorical Scholars: Perspectives on Rhetoric

Question 1

Plato, the Greek philosopher, in his writings offered which of the following views on knowledge?

A) Divided the world between things seen and thought.
B) Placed knowledge in a hierarchy, with reason the highest.
C) Presented only one truth.
D) Presented relativistic ethics.

Answer 1

A, B, C

Question 2

The Allegory of the Cave depicted people as prisoners chained to a cave wall that was supposed to show which of the following?

A) The world of sense perception and our distorted view of knowledge.
B) The danger of exploring caves.
C) The intolerance for opposing views of reality.
D) The fact that knowledge and truth are powerful and transformative.

Answer 2

A, C, D

Question 3

Aristotle, Plato's student, believed in which of the following?

A) There are five nontechnical means of persuasion.
B) We live in a world of probabilities, not certainty.
C) Speech can be divided into political, forensic, and epideictic genres.
D) There is only one universal truth.

Answer 3

A, B, C

Question 4

The O. J. Simpson murder trial is an example of what form of communication?

A) Political.
B) Forensic.
C) Epideictic.
D) Ceremonial.

Question 5

The eulogy of Coretta Scott King, the widow of M. L. King Jr., is an example of what form of communication?

A) Political.
B) Forensic.
C) Epideictic.
D) Adversarial.

Question 6

Aristotle wrote of three classic appeals in rhetoric. Which of the following belongs?

A) Ethos.
B) Humors.
C) Logos.
D) Pathos.

Question 7

The meaning of the word topos, according to Aristotle, is:

A) A place in the mind where arguments can be found to persuade.
B) Based on a metaphor taken from the hiding place of animals.
C) Topics in an outline.
D) Convoluted thinking.

Question 8

Richard Whately, who was the archbishop of Dublin, accomplished which of the following?

A) Wrote Elements of Rhetoric.
B) Moved ministers from the rhetoric of belles lettres and elocution.
C) Encouraged divinity students to focus on content and arguments.
D) Taught ministers to speak naturally.

Question 9

Kenneth Burke characterized man by which of the following characteristics?

A) The head of the hierarchy.
B) The symbol using animal.
C) The inventor of the negative.
D) The symbol misusing animal.

Question 10

Which of the following biblical stories concerns the separation of tribes by language?

A) The Garden of Eden.
B) The Tower of Babel.
C) Joseph and the technicolor coat.
D) Moses wandering in the wilderness.

Question 11

Adolph Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, which means:

A) The National Socialist Party.
B) The Propaganda Bible.
C) My struggle.
D) Brown shirts.

Question 12

Fisher's narrative theory established which of the following elements of discourse as superior to argument?

A) Narratives capture the experience in the world.
B) Probability and fidelity are acquired through culture and experience.
C) Narratives identify the villains.
D) Narratives work through suggestion and identification.

Question 13

Jacques Ellul, a sociologist, described persuasion as a result of La Technique, which originated from:

A) Postrevolution France.
B) Technological society.
C) Educational systems.
D) Religious institutions.

Question 14

According to Ellul, which kind of propaganda did Lenin, Hitler, and communist China under Mao use?

A) Integration propaganda.
B) Agitation propaganda.
C) Religious propaganda.
D) Industrial propaganda.

Question 15

Aristotle wrote about artistic proofs and inartistic proofs. Which of the following are included as inartistic proofs?

A) Laws.
B) Tortures.
C) Copyrights.
D) Witnesses.

Question 16

Aristotle was known for which of the following?

A) Being Plato's student.
B) Being a great warrior.
C) Being the author of the Allegory of the Cave.
D) Being a great wine maker.

Question 17

Pete Rose's confession that he gambled on his team in baseball is a form of mortification, which is found in which theory of communication?

A) Image restoration theory.
B) Universal truth.
C) La Technique.
D) Narrative theory.

Question 18

Kenneth Burke's concept of identification is most similar to which of the following?

A) Fisher's narrative theory.
B) Aristotle's common ground concept.
C) Benoit's apologies, excuses, and accounts.
D) Larson's content premises.

Question 19

Fisher's narrative theory was dependent on which elements to be credible?

A) Drama.
B) Memory.
C) Coherence.
D) Fidelity.

Question 20

Hugh Rank created the intensify/downplay schema to teach students to resist which of the following?

A) Political scandal.
B) Propaganda.
C) Bad grades.
D) Social media.

Question 21

Plato portrayed the world of sense perception as a shadowy cave.

Question 22

Plato believed in relativistic ethics.

Question 23

Plato's view of an appropriate ruler for the republic was a philosopher king.

Question 24

Aristotle wrote The Rhetoric, which is the foundational book for theories of persuasion.

Question 25

Artistic proofs are those illustrated with great graphics.

Question 26

Aristotle used inductive and deductive reasoning to determine what was probably true.

Question 27

Aristotle believed that torture was a viable way to get credible information.

Question 28

Source-message-receiver is the simplest communication model.

Question 29

Forensic communication focuses on eulogies and tributes.

Question 30

Epideictic communication focuses on war and peace, ways and means, national defense, imports and exports, and legislation.

Question 31

Political communication is deliberation on matters of state.

Question 32

When we like and trust people who "speak our language," this shared meaning and similarity is an example of identification.

Question 33

Aristotle said a man should be as able to defend himself with speech and reason as he is to use his limbs or physical prowess.

Question 34

Richard Whately, the archbishop of Dublin, taught his seminary students to engage in elocution, which focuses on gestures and voice.

Question 35

Richard Whately wrote, "Universally, a writer or speaker should endeavour to maintain the appearance of expressing himself, not as if he wanted to say something, but as if he had something to say."

Question 36

Kenneth Burke wrote, "Here is the simplest case of persuasion. You persuade a man only insofar as you can talk his language by speech, gesture, tonality, order, image, attitude, idea, identifying your ways with his."

Question 37

Kenneth Burke praised man's ability to use and create symbols, but he did not address the misuse of symbols.

Question 38

The Tower of Babel is the story of the people of Noah who were divided by foreign languages and thus became divided into tribes.

Question 39

Babel means "gate of god," but a related word, babal, means confusion.

Question 40

A paradigm shift means that we need a new model for viewing the world.

Question 41

Burke claimed that war required a myriad of constructive acts for each destructive one, which requires interlocking operations before each culminating blast.

Question 42

Needs, attitudes, and beliefs are not relevant for persuasion applications.

Question 43

Logic and proof of arguments have no place in persuasion because they belong in an argument class.

Question 44

Studying persuasion is a form of elitism.

Question 45

All persuasion consists of self-persuasion.

Question 46

A syllogism presents a major claim, a minor claim, and then a conclusion.

Question 47

Myths are mere fairy tales and have no place in the study of persuasion.

Question 48

The narrative paradigm synthesizes two strands in rhetorical theory: the argumentative, persuasive theme, and the literary, aesthetic theme.

Question 49

Narratives are flawed vehicles to influence listeners.

Question 50

Mein Kampf is a bad story, Walter Fisher said, because it lacked fidelity to the truths that humanity shares about justice, reason, and peaceful ways to resolve social-political conflict, although it had formal coherence in structure.

Question 51

Image restoration means using public relations to deceive the public.

Question 52

Michael McGee wrote of mass consciousness and ideology created through ideographs.

Question 53

La Technique is inseparable from the technological society that totally immerses the individual continuously.

Question 54

Hitler said the bigger the lie, the more likely it would be believed, but Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister, insisted that facts be disseminated to the masses also.

Question 55

Ellul stated that the population explosion and economic and technical growth had nothing to do with propaganda.

Question 56

Agitation propaganda is an integrative form of this genre of communication.

Question 57

Sociological propaganda does not conduct a campaign to spread ideology but it allows ideology to penetrate the masses through the economic and political system.

Question 58

Agitation propaganda is spectacular, whereas integrative propaganda is gradual and imperceptible.

Question 59

Lenin, Hitler, and Mao used agitation propaganda, which confronts the status quo with opposition.

Question 60

Psychological warfare intends to break the morale of the enemy and cause them to doubt their own beliefs and values.

Question 61

Compare and contrast Plato and Aristotle's views on truth and how we know it.

Question 62

Explain Michael McGee's concept of the ideograph and how it creates mass consciousness.

Question 63

Explain the Allegory of the Cave literally and then explain the meaning of it for persuasion.

Question 64

Explain Aristotle's three classic appeals to influence or persuade an audience. Include which of these Aristotle thought was most important.

Question 65

Explain Aristotle's three forms of rhetoric and give contemporary examples of each type.

Question 66

Explain what belles lettres and elocution are and then explain the advice that Richard Whately gave to his divinity students in Dublin in 1828.

Question 67

Discuss the Tower of Babel myth and, using Kenneth Burke's writing, explain the relevance of it to persuasion. Include in your answer the concept of identification.

Question 68

Explain Walter Fisher's narrative theory and give an example of a public figure who used this form of proof to persuade an audience.

Question 69

Explain Hugh Rank's model and the strategies that he identified under his intensify/downplay schema.

Question 70

Explain Jacques Ellul's sociological theory of propaganda. Be specific in discussing the various types he outlined and give examples of how or when they were used.