Deck 4: Aristotle on Rhetoric

Question 1

How is Aristotle's view of rhetoric different from Plato's?

Answer 1

Plato saw rhetoric as the methods of persuasive language used by the Sophists. He did not believe it was a true art, and he was concerned that in the hands of unjust people rhetoric was a dangerous tool. Aristotle disagrees, firstly, by saying it is a true art and can therefore be systematically studied.Rhetoric is more than just persuasive speech; it is a systematic study of arguments and appeals. Rhetoric was an art of investigation and expression.

Question 2

Aristotle called rhetoric the counterpart (antistrophos) of dialectic. In what ways are the two arts similar, and how are they different?

Answer 2

Some of the similarities between rhetoric and dialectic are:
• They both begin with endoxa.
• They both deal with questions that do not belong to a specific science or art.
• They both can argue either side of a case.
• They both deal with questions that concern everyone.Some of the differences between rhetoric and dialectic are:
• Rhetoric addresses larger groups while dialectic addresses small groups of experts.
• Rhetoric is delivered in the form of a speech while dialectic is a process of questions and answers.
• Rhetoric deals with specific questions while dialectic deals with general questions.
• Rhetoric uses logos, pathos, and ethos, while dialectic employs only arguments.
• Rhetoric's fundamental component is the enthymeme while dialectic's fundamental component is the formal syllogism.

Question 3

For what reasons is rhetoric useful, according to Aristotle?

Answer 3

Aristotle gives several reasons for why rhetoric is a useful art:
• While there is a natural tendency for the truth to prevail, in public settings it often requires the advocacy of capable speakers and writers.
• Rhetoric adapts complex ideas to ordinary audiences.
• Rhetoric allows one to argue both sides of a case.
• Rhetoric is verbal self-defense.

Question 4

What does Aristotle mean by "artistic proofs" (entechnoi pisteis)?

Question 5

What are the three types of artistic proofs Aristotle identifies, and with what is each concerned?

Question 6

What is an enthymeme?

Question 7

What role does Jeffrey Walker find that epideictic discourse played in ancient Greece?

Question 8

Describe the courses someone might take in a modern university in order to learn the components of the art of rhetoric as Aristotle describes that art in the Rhetoric.

Question 9

Many Greeks of Aristotle's day believed that good character (ethos) was a more reliable form of proof than was physical evidence. The reasoning behind this preference, apparently, was that it is much easier to fake physical evidence than it is good character. What do you think of this view of the relative reliability of physical evidence and good character?

Question 10

What is your response to Aristotle's argument that studying rhetoric is useful for (a) defending the truth, (b) adapting complicated ideas to a large and untrained audience, (c) thinking through both sides of a case, and (d) self-defense? Are these still good reasons for studying the subject, or have things changed too much since Aristotle's day for these reasons still to hold? Is there any use of rhetoric that should be added to Aristotle's list?

Question 11

What is your response to Aristotle's having defined rhetoric as an art of observation rather than as the practice of public speaking?

Question 12

Central to Aristotle's treatment of rhetoric is the type of argument called the ________________. Literally translated as something like, "grasped internally," this type of argument is a rhetorical syllogism based on a premise shared by a speaker and the audience.

Question 13

________________ was the artistic proof that Aristotle says dealt with rationality, and studied the arguments employed in decision-making.

Question 14

When Aristotle discusses lines of argument, he has divided them into two categories. The first is eidei topoi or special topics, while the second category is ________________, a Greek term that meant common topics, or arguments that would be useful in any rhetorical setting.

Question 15

________________ was the artistic proof that Aristotle thought was essential for putting the audience in the right frame of mind and for affecting the judgment of audiences.

Question 16

Aristotle says rhetoric is the counterpart of ________________, which he outlines as a method of reasoning from common opinions, directed by established principles of reasoning to probable conclusions.

Question 17

"All men are mortal, Socrates is a man, so Socrates is mortal" is an example of a _______________, which is a deductive argument that moves from a general premise to a specific and necessary conclusion.

Question 18

Which type of rhetorical oratory does Aristotle say is concerned with actions, is future oriented, deals with questions of the best uses of resources, and is presented in the legislature to form laws?

Question 19

Aristotle showed hesitancy to classify rhetoric and dialectic as exactly like other technai. What distinctive type of technai does he classify them as?

A) Arts of writing and instruction
B) Arts of deception and impression
C) Arts of investigation and expression
D) None of the above

Question 20

Which type of oratory does Aristotle say deals with questions of justice, evaluates actions of the past, employs accusations or defense, and is usually delivered by lawyers in a court room?

A) Deliberative
B) Incarcerous
C) Epideictic
D) Forensic

Question 21

Which type of oratory does Aristotle say deals with issues of praise and blame, sought to demonstrate what is honorable, and characterized public ceremonies such as funerals.

A) Deliberative
B) Incarcerous
C) Epideictic
D) Forensic

Question 22

Which of the following is not a component of the artistic proof of ethos?

A) Eunoia
B) Arete
C) Eudaimonia
D) Phronesis

Question 23

One of the reasons Aristotle gives for rhetoric's usefulness is, "We must be able to employ persuasion on opposite sides of a question … in order that we may see clearly what the facts are." What Sophistic principle does this connect with?

A) Nomos vs. Physis
B) Dissoi logoi
C) Psychagogos
D) Kairos

Question 24

Aristotle believed that both rhetoric and dialectic began with endoxa, or widely accepted ideas.

Question 25

Greeks during Aristotle's time did not make a sharp distinction between thinking and speaking, meaning that words almost always implied oral expression.

Question 26

Greeks during Aristotle's time did not make a sharp distinction between reason and emotion, causing Aristotle to see emotions not as irrational impediments to decision-making, but instead as rational responses to certain circumstances.

Question 27

Plato defined rhetoric saying, "Rhetoric is the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." Aristotle's Rhetoric is largely a counterargument against this definition.

Question 28

One function of epideictic address, which was oratory that took place at ceremonies, was to shape and cultivate the basic codes of value and belief by which the society and culture lived.

Question 29

Aristotle believed that delivery was the most important aspect of rhetoric, and that stylized speaking was the most powerful tool to persuade audiences.

Question 30

Provide the term for the following definitions:
-The Greek term for human well-being or happiness, the goal of deliberative oratory.

Question 31

Provide the term for the following definitions:
-The Greek term for making an argument of defense, one of two functions of forensic oratory.

Question 32

Provide the term for the following definitions:
-The Greek term for Aristotle's universal lines of argument or common topics; arguments and strategies useful in any of the three types of oratorical settings.

Question 33

Provide the term for the following definitions:
-The study of human character, one of the three artistic proofs.

Question 34

Provide the term for the following definitions:
-The study of arguments, one of Aristotle's three artistic proofs.

Question 35

Provide the term for the following definitions:
-The study of the psychology of emotion, one of Aristotle's three artistic proofs.

Question 36

Provide the term for the following definitions:
-Virtue, discussed as one component of ethos.

Question 37

Provide the term for the following definitions:
-Proofs taught specifically by the art of rhetoric-logos, pathos, and ethos.

Question 38

Provide the term for the following definitions:
-A method of reasoning from common opinions, directed by established principles of reasoning to probable conclusions.

Question 39

Provide the term for the following definitions:
-A rhetorical syllogism, or a rhetorical argument based on a premise shared by speaker and audience.

Question 40

Provide the term for the following definitions:
-The kind of speaking characteristic of public ceremonies such as funerals or events commemorating war heroes.

Question 41

Provide the term for the following definitions:
-Intelligence or good sense, discussed as one component of ethos.

Question 42

Aristotle defined rhetoric in two different ways in the opening pages of his Rhetoric. Provide these two definitions.

Question 43

For Aristotle, how are rhetoric and dialectic similar, and how are they different?

Question 44

Identity and briefly present the four reasons Aristotle found rhetoric useful.

Question 45

Briefly describe Aristotle's concept of the enthymeme.

Question 46

Provide a brief overview of the distinguishing characteristics of deliberative, epideictic, and forensic oratory, and the settings in which each occurs, as discussed by Aristotle in Rhetoric.

Question 47

Briefly describe each of the three artistic proofs of rhetoric as described by Aristotle.

Question 48

Explain Aristotle's distinction between special and universal topics or lines of argument as discussed by Aristotle in Rhetoric.

Question 49

In Gorgias, Plato argues that rhetoric is a knack, and not a techne or true art. In Rhetoric, Aristotle argues that rhetoric is a techne. Explain why Aristotle takes this position. If rhetoric is a true art, what does the art allow one to accomplish, and about what sorts of things does it instruct one?

Question 50

Aristotle claimed that the art of rhetoric was built on a type of argument he termed the enthymeme. He also held that rhetoric involved the study of three artistic proofs, and that rhetoric could be divided into three general categories according to the settings in which it occurred and the issues that it addressed. Explain Aristotle's understanding of the enthymeme. What distinguishes an enthymeme from other sorts of arguments, such as the syllogism of dialectic? Identify and briefly describe Aristotle's three artistic proofs. What are the various types of settings, and the kinds of issues with which each deals?

Question 51

Plato defined rhetoric at one point as "the art of influencing the soul through words," while his student Aristotle defined the same art as "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." Identify and explain the common concerns and the major differences of Plato and Aristotle regarding the art of rhetoric.

Question 52

Aristotle defines rhetoric as "the counterpart of dialectic," and later as "the faculty of discovering in any situation the available means of persuasion." Expand on his apparent meaning in each of these definitions.