As we discussed in class, rhetoric is the art of persuasion, the art of discourse. The more I look at ideas on rhetoric, it looks to me like the art of argument.
Of course, when one thinks of the history of rhetoric, one is likely to think of the Sophists or Aristotle. The study of rhetoric (at that time, expressed most commonly through persuasive speaking) came about in Ancient Greece, primarily as a means of settling legal problems. Among the Sophists, rhetoric was thought of as the proper way to discover truth, and its users were required to state their arguments clearly and eloquently. Over time, though, others, like Plato, argued that rhetoric was a way in which to deceive. In Plato's case, he argued that the Sophists did not advance their students in the slightest by teaching them this form of flattery. In his opinion, the Sophists were not discovering virtue and truth in their teaching of rhetoric; how could they be, when they condemned Plato's mentor, Socrates, to death in search of this supposed "truth"? No, to Plato, rhetoric amounted to deception.
Several other philosophers reclaimed the positivity of rhetoric after Plato. Aristotle went on to expand on rhetoric considerably, and of course, from his writings we get our explanations of ethos, pathos, and logos. Cicero argued that rhetoric amounted to much more than eloquence in delivery; he maintained that to be a good speaker, one had to be a good person. In this way, one can continue to discover truth through rhetoric.
I'd like to say that when we began discussing rhetoric in class, that all of this information was circling through my head in a frenzy, and I was ready to mentally fact-check any and all historical mentions against my own knowledge of rhetoric. Sadly, though, I do not have much experience at all in this field (though I am looking forward to gaining some). So, when I look at the emersion of rhetoric in the past, I begin to think not of learning about rhetoric in school, but about learning how to argue. I grew up as a preacher's and a New Testament professor's kid, which meant that every Sunday I was stationed on a pew and asked to listen to my dad's newest oratory presentation. I can see now that, putting his preaching subjects aside, these weekly lessons began to drill into me an inclination toward certain rhetorical choices. My dad's pacing, his emphasis on certain words, the tone of his voice, the volume of his voice... all these things, when listened to repeatedly, gave me an ear for good oratory style. Further than that, when I learned how to argue (with my family, like most humans), I had to have my argument completely put together before presenting it to my family. If not, I would absolutely fail to make any or all of the points I wished to make.
Everyone has their own style of argument, whether they know it yet or not. Rhetoric has applications in real life long before we are made to write essays with it. I am hoping to learn how to teach my future students to harness their version of rhetoric, because this, to me, means giving students the means to express their ideas in the exact way in which they want and to be able to explain their purpose behind their rhetorical choices. Besides using rhetoric in writing, I think it is dire in today's world to teach students how to analyze rhetoric. We have to learn how to embrace this "Google" generation, because they, more than any other generation thus far, have to sift through the most of what Neil Postman calls "information glut." They have to learn how to discern between true and false, reliable and unreliable. Now that the internet is here, it's not going away. I think that Plato was right, that rhetoric can certainly be used to fool the masses. However, with some help, students are more than equipped to fight this deception.
Maybe I'm a bad example (names and dates go right over my head), but even after four years in a Rhetoric and Professional Writing program for my BA it's difficult to pull historical facts out of thin air. So no worries!
ReplyDeleteIt actually makes so much sense that your father was a preacher considering that we learned that the earliest English professors were clergymen. You had to pick up your skill for eloquent writing and rhetorical choices from somewhere!
You make a good point about this "Google" generation, and while rhetoric can be used as a tool for manipulation, I think it's important to remember all of the benefits of rhetoric - like, making mindful rhetorical choices when addressing different cultures in our culturally vibrant country. Perhaps we can help guide the generation that not only understands how to analyze rhetoric, but how to use it as a tool for good.
P.S. If you haven't been yet, Yellow House Coffee is a really cute coffee shop on 34th with some Christian vibes. I'm not religious myself, but many of the baristas attend LCU and last night there was a guy with some pretty great vocals and piano skills who also plays at his church. It's a great place, religious or not!
Aubrey, I absolutely agree! I love your point about making mindful rhetorical choices when addressing different cultures. I think that, for our students, the study of rhetoric might begin with learning how to analyze, and then it moves into personal application.
DeleteI'll have to check out Yellow House Coffee! I've found a few good other coffee shops so far, but I'm always looking for new ones! Thanks!
I agree. I don't have as much knowledge of rhetoric as I would like. I even took a summer course over it a year ago and still found myself stumbling over the topic. But you've made some very good points, especially with the "Google" generation. I think we, as teachers, have to train students even further with rhetoric so they know how to find and use reliable information in order to be very persuasive to others.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your mention of listening and observing your father's presentations reminded me of what I had in mind for what I would teach to my students. I think observing speeches help students visualize what their papers are supposed to sound like, and I think it gives them an idea on how to approach their topics. So I think it's cool that you had that sort of outlet in your life! I think more visualization is needed in programs, especially for writing.
I like your description of learning rhetoric as a child. I think that most people have a similar experience, as from a young age we all need to argue for what we want. Both of my parents attended law school, and looking back I can certainly see that the roots of my skill in argument lie in childhood discussions and justifications.
ReplyDeleteCertainly we all have a different rhetorical style, and I admire your appreciation for this diversity and desire to foster this in your students. I think that as we each better understand how to argue, we are better able to point out flaws in others' arguments and discern what is true from falsehood and noise.
Wow! Being a preacher and New Testament professor's daughter must have been interesting experience. I can definitely see how that would have influenced your particular rhetoric style. I can also understand what it's like to find it absolutely necessary to have all of your arguments carefully thought or you wouldn't be able to make any of your points at all. Looking back, which rhetoric style did you unknowingly employ the most, do you think?
ReplyDeleteLike most of our classmates I find myself lacking quite a bit of knowledge on rhetoric. I agree completely with what you've said about the "Google" generation. It is necessary to teach them that not everything they read is true. Websites are particularly fond of poorly researched pieces that are published with out fact checking and as a result there is a lot of false information floating around on the interwebs. We need to remember that Rhetoric can be used by anyone and those writers desperate for hits on their websites are often some of the best at employing it as they are able to manipulate the masses into clinking on their links often with less than 10 words to convince them.
Emma, you make some great points! I find it interesting that you're equating rhetoric with argument. I can't think of any reason why not to do so. But are they really synonymous? Or is rhetoric a means and argument an end? I don't know.
ReplyDeleteI also like the fact that you bring some optimism to the problem of technology invading the intellectual abilities of students today.
You have some helpful comments here! You might reply to them here or in your colleagues' blogs. Excellent history review with rhetoric, very good connections to your own background and experience as a preacher's kid, and nice thinking about living in an information glut society. If that's true, then communication must change, right? And, since composition is communication, maybe we need to think about ways in which our teaching of composition should change some.
ReplyDelete