An Exploration of Rhetorical Discourse - Assignment Example

Running Head: Rhetoric An Exploration of Rhetorical Dis A Response Paper Module 1) Read Abraham Lincolns Second Inaugural Address (pp. 27-28 in Herrick), and demonstrate how the address illustrates any three of the characteristics of rhetorical discourse as outlined in Chapter 1. Lincoln’s second inaugural address is context-specific, since it is vested with rhetorical significance by the current national condition; the speech answers a contingent concern, which was the necessary abolition of slavery. 2) In your opinion, what members (or segment) of our modern society most closely resemble(s) the Sophists? Be sure to demonstrate your view by citing examples and drawing parallels. In modern society, groups which resemble the Sophists to a certain extent are in existence and one group that comes into my mind is The Rhetoric Society of America (RSA) which deals with the teaching of rhetoric in the academia. Just like the objective of the original Sophists, RSA’s purpose is to bring together all key areas of study, and to pass on among its members, existing rhetorical knowledge, widely interpreted. Also, just like the Sophists, the organization travel all over the world to give lectures to teachers and students alike, and entered into discussions or debates. Questions for Review: (p. 26) 1) How are the following terms defined in the chapter: rhetoric, the art of rhetoric, rhetorical discourse, rhetor? Rhetoric is an art of persuasion through language and is one of the ancient arts of discourse. The art of rhetoric refer to embellished or exaggerated talk, such as that usually used in political speeches. The art of rhetoric is an art of persuasion through cautiously constructed words. Rhetorical discourse is a communication object that responds to a specific circumstance to initiate action or change or to accomplish a particular task. Rhetor is a writer or a speaker; a mentor of rhetoric. 2) What are the marks or characteristics of rhetorical discourse discussed in this chapter? Rhetorical discourse has three characteristics, namely, contingent, addresses a specific kind of audience, and is made up of a set of constraints composed of persons, objects, events and interactions which are components of the situation. 4) What social functions of the art of rhetoric are discussed in this chapter? Rhetoric unburdens or serves as a respite, distracts or controls the basis of a discussion, enlarges or appeals for social change, names or provides social meanings, empowers or grants social power, and elongates or extends time to serve a social cause. 7) What is meant by the statement that rhetoric addresses contingent issues? Rhetoric addresses contingent issues because of its argumentative nature. This statement claimed that contingency as well as uncertainty dominates rhetorical discourse. However, the extent of this view of rhetoric as a contingency measure is limited due to the traditional philosophical separation between logic and rhetoric. This differentiation degraded rhetoric, which is characteristically contingent, in contrast to logic, which is expository. Questions for Discussion: (p. 52) 5) Assuming that rhetoric is not currently a central educational concern, where do citizens today learn to reason and to speak persuasively? If rhetoric is not currently a central educational concern, citizens could learn to reason and speak persuasively through other established social institutions such as the family, peers, mass media, church, and so on. 7) What, if anything, is the relationship between truth and argument? Persuasion and ethics? In the field of philosophy there is nothing in theory more trustworthy than argument. For instance, there is no philosophical means of supporting the truthfulness of a philosophical principle except to construct arguments favoring it. Only the creation of a sound argument can bring back the philosophical truthfulness of such a principle. Persuasion, on the other hand, has to take into account ethical concerns. Persuasion that is fallacious is unethical. 10) What effects on the subsequent history of Western culture may have resulted from the exclusion of women from rhetorical theory and practice in ancient Greece? Silence and silencing are problematical rhetorical areas most frequently related with women in ancient Greece. A great deal of Western culture’s history is evidently, permanently silenced: conversations, gestures and documents can never be returned to their original. Moreover, because of the exclusion of women from rhetorical theory in the past results in the perception that women’s silences are indications of submission and passivity. Module 7 I. Please discuss the topic below in a persuasive argument: Can a clash of arguments reveal “truth”? Why or Why not Yes, clash of arguments can reveal the truth since both sides will strive to discover or create the most valid arguments in order to triumph. In this manner, validity is reached and truth is revealed. However, the truth may not be the truth per se, but a truth constructed by the most convincing arguments. II. Answer the following study questions from Aristotle On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse: 1) Define and briefly discuss the following emotions: Friendship and Enmity, Fear and Confidence, and Emulation. Friendship is hoping for a person those things in life which you regarded to be good; desiring for that person’s sake and attempting as much as you can to influence them. Enmity could arise without consideration to the targeted individual. Fear is a trouble or pain emerging from a vision of imminent danger. Confidence is the anticipation, together with mental vision, of things favorable to security. Emulation is a pain that individuals consider to the existence of other individuals who naturally resemble us that are favorable and are probable for individuals to achieve. 2) List and briefly describe the three gifts of fortune that affect human character. Three gifts of fortune are birth, wealth, and power. Good birth makes those who possess it more ambitious; the characters created by wealth are insolence and arrogance; and power makes those who have it more determined, ambitious, and manly. 3) Outline Aristotles four general lines of argument. The four general lines of arguments are the Possible and Impossible, Past Fact, Future Fact and Greatness and Smallness of Things. The Possible and Impossible states that ‘if it is possible for one of a pair of contraries to be or happen, then it is possible for the other’ (Aristotle, 2004, 90) (e.g. if a person can be healed, then s/he can also become sick); Past Fact states that ‘if the less likely of two things has occurred, the more likely must have occurred also’ (Aristotle, 2004, 62) (e.g. if a person has forgotten how to carry out a particular task, then s/he has once learnt it); Future Fact states that ‘that a thing will be done if there is both the power and the wish to do it’ (Aristotle, 2004, 83); and Greatness and Smallness of things states that ‘the greater and the lesser, and generally great things and small, what we have already said will show the line to take’ (Aristotle, 2004, 63). 4) Identify the two general modes of persuasion and provide an example for each. The two general modes of persuasion are by Example and by Enthymeme. The former is a rhetorical induction (e.g. the sky is dark hence it will rain); the latter is a rhetorical syllogism (e.g. she doesn’t answer the phone and she doesn’t contact me, so she must be avoiding me). Module 8 1) After listening to John F. Kennedys speech, discuss what made Kennedys style of oratory "impressive" by Aristotelian standards. Kennedy’s speech elaborates on important points, uses several connecting words, and explains effectively the key components of his speech. 2) Review Orwells "Politics and the English Language" and compare some of his faults of prose style with Aristotles. Orwell’s has used strange words or expressions such as ‘school-maamish arch, antirrhinum, myosotis, Fascist octopus.’ Moreover, Orwell is fond of using metaphors that are sometimes inappropriate. Answer the following study questions from Aristotle On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse: 1) Identify the four faults of prose style and provide an example for each. The Four Faults of Prose Style are (a) the wrong use of compound words, such as ‘many visaged heaven, strait-pathed shore’; (b) the use of unusual words such as ‘a toy of poetry, witlessness of nature’; (c) the employment of lengthy, inappropriate, or general descriptions such as ‘white milk’; (d) and the inappropriate use of metaphors such as ‘events that are green and full of sap’ (Aristotle, 2004, 73). 2) List the six ways to achieve impressiveness of style. The Six Ways to achieve Impressiveness of Style are (a) describing a thing rather than naming it; (b) representing things through descriptions and metaphor; (c) applying plural for singular such as that in poetry; (d) avoiding grouping two words under one article; (e) making use of several connecting words; and (f) describing a thing by including aspects it does not have. 3) Outline and briefly discuss the two essential parts of a speech. The two essential parts of speech are (a) a statement of the proposition, which demonstrates the standpoint of the speaker; and (b) proof, which lays the truth of the proposition. 4) Identify the four parts of the epilogue or conclusion. The four parts of an epilogue or a conclusion are (a) the demonstration of goodness and badness; (b) amplification or depreciation of facts; (c) provocation of emotions such as anger, pity, jealousy; and (d) recapitulation. Module 9 1) The Italian Humanists believed that speech itself is a means by which we create civilization. Is this approach too simplistic? Why or why not? What other factors might play a part? The statement is rather too simplistic for the reason that a civilization’s foundation does not merely rely upon the presence of language but of other factors such as political, economic, cultural and social. 2) Listen again to Solzhenitsyns speech... especially his views as regards the direction of freedom. Do we pay less attention to social hierarchies than European nations as a whole? How might this affect the spread of freedom/democracy? Our society is more of an open system, that is, it allows considerable social mobility than that of the European nations which are more vigilant with their social classes. Democracy is fostered by a certain extent of vertical social mobility; hence freedom or democracy is exercised more in our society than in our European counterparts. Questions for Review: (pp. 147-148) 1) Which classical rhetorician has the greatest influence on the shape of rhetorical theory and practice in the Middle Ages? Augustine of Hippo has the greatest influence on the formation of rhetorical theory and practice in the Middle Ages. 2) Why are the Middle Ages considered a period of fragmentation in rhetorical theory? In the Middle Ages, rhetorical theory was fragmented because philosophy developed on a dialectical method based on popularity as an area of study; new interpretations of Aristotle triggered dialectical theory and tradition. Rhetoric became a sub-discipline of philosophy; it is generally integrated with dialectic as one minor branch of the entire scope of discourse arts. 4) What dilemmas faced Augustine of Hippo regarding rhetoric? What was Augustine’s response to these dilemmas? Augustine asks why the power of persuasiveness, which is quite effective in imploring either for the wrong or right cause, should not be exercised for virtuous intentions. Augustine then endeavored to lay the foundation of the rhetoric of sermon or what is referred to as the ‘homiletics.’ 9) What particular aspect of rhetoric is stressed in the art of poetry? Rhetoric that structures language to rouse emotions, convince by argument and entertain is the one used in the art of poetry. Questions for Review: (p. 175) 2) What expectations regarding the writing of women did Margaret Cavendish challenge? Cavendish argues that women’s writing is a disease. This implies then, that several others, such as Aristotle, Homer, and Cicero, have also been afflicted with the same disease. She comments that it is a great honor for a woman like her to have the same disease of such intelligent and persuasive men. 3) Identify some of the defining characteristics of the Italian Humanist movement. Some of these characteristics are a rebirth of classical learning, appearance of humanist approaches, an integration of sciences, and a sudden increase in the arts. 5) What is the significance of the concept of the vita activa to Renaissance rhetoric? Vita activa means relative values of a life dominated by social activity. It has become important to Renaissance rhetoric because it indicates a lifestyle interested in civic activities and political affairs. 8) In what way are Agricola and Ramus significant to the history of rhetoric? Ramus differentiated rhetoric from philosophy in curriculum. He also claimed that invention should not be dominated by contingencies. Agricola was of remarkable significance to the training of early humanists. He also was quite influential in constructing an appropriate position for logic in rhetorical theory. Module 10 1) Review Perleman and Olbrechts-Tytecas theory of rhetoric. Is it possible to "argue/reason" with yourself? If so, is it a reliable way of testing our reasoning? No, we cannot argue with ourselves since any value that is the basis of our normative system cannot be subjected to a rational standard, for the reason that it is absolutely uninformed and rationally undefined. 2) Look at style of delivery vs. message... which is more important, and why? The style of delivery is more important than the message because the success of communicating the message to the audience/s depends upon the style of delivery, such as the use of persuasion and sound argument Questions for Review: (pp. 199-200) 2) What, according to Vico, was the human capacity of ingenium? Ingenium has precedence over the deductive method of logic. The human capacity of ingenium means the ability to be adjusted to the frame of mind of the audience. Also, it implies the human capacity to understand free will, which is quite difficult to fathom. 3) What were Vico’s principal objections to the philosophy of Descartes? The first objection is aimed at the perspective of Discourse as a means of invention; second is on the methodological monism; third is on the supposed superiority of Cartesian analytical geometry to Euclidian geometry; and last is on Descartes’ view that human beings are purely rational beings. 4) What are some of the social forces that compelled British people to seek education in rhetoric in the eighteenth century? The British people saw rhetorical studies as a way to upward social mobility. British rhetoric of civic virtue, as well, becomes prominent in public speech pedagogies that were disseminated among British citizens in the 18th century. Much like the imperfect emulation of modesty in domestic preferences, publishers usually recognized civic virtues that put emphasis on the duty of the British citizens to the Commonwealth. These are the social factors which compelled 18th century British to study rhetoric. 7) What were the goals of the Belletristic Movement? What effect did it have on the study of argument as a component of rhetoric? The Belletristic Movement enlarged the emphasis of rhetoric, but sustained a heavy concentration on style and delivery. The movement expanded on the notion that language can be exploited to attain persuasiveness hence argumentative style became one of the key components in rhetorical studies. 9) What theory of psychology influenced George Campbell’s theory of rhetoric? How was this influence revealed in Campbell’s theory? George Campbell claimed that a rhetoric based on empiricism would turn out to be productive through due to the integration of the cognitive processes. According to him, the human senses are the sources of strength of belief; hence a rhetorical theory founded in faculty psychology would ascertain that rhetoric has the capacity to make an audience experience a notion with the same energy and involuntariness as that of the human senses. 11) What did Richard Whately hope to accomplish through teaching his students rhetoric? Richard Whately intended to teach his students about the appropriate application of rhetorical strategies, such as fallacy and circumlocution. He wanted to train his students to the strategies of conviction rather than to the techniques of persuasion. Questions for Review: (p. 220) 1) What do Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca mean by their concept of the ‘universal audience’, and why is it important to their theory of argument? A universal audience presents common criteria of agreement by which to determine argumentation. It presents the features of what is ‘reasonable’ hence it is important to the theory of argument. 3) Into what categories do Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca divide the starting points of argumentation? What specific sources of agreement are placed under each heading? The categories of the starting points of argument are ‘facts, truths, presumptions, values, hierarchies and the loci of the preferable’ (Sonja et al., 1985, 112). Reality is under facts and truth; faith is under presumptions; generalizations are under values; relative merit is under hierarchies; and merit based on particular characteristics is under the loci of the preferable. 4) What does Michael Billig mean by the principle of rhetorical opposition? According to Michael Billig, there are argumentative qualities to all forms of social activity, which he referred to as rhetorical opposition. 6) What concern does Dilip Gaonkar raise regarding the rhetoric of science movement? Dilip Gaonkar raises the concern on the way scholars argue about rhetoric, and he clarifies the global objectives of rhetorical theory as a universal hermeneutic, along with the rhetoric of science as an ideal area of analysis. Module 11 1) Can you use the televised Kennedy/Nixon debate to serve as an example of a discourse that derives its rhetorical character from the situation in which it is presented (see Bitzer)? The Kennedy/Nixon debate is a discourse that derives its rhetorical character from exigency, since their discussion was focused on the response to the Cold War and civil rights problems. The existing situations at the time have provided rhetorical significance to their discourse because of the contingency of the political, economic and social problems that the American nation is facing. 2) Do you agree with Foucault that language and power are closely connected? Why or why not? Yes, I agree with him. As demonstrated in the study of rhetoric, eloquence or the effective use of language has the capacity of confer power or influence to the speaker. Language, traditionally, has been the medium of powerful personalities to manipulate throngs of people. Questions for Review: (p. 243) 2) What is Wayne Booth’s position on the possibility of an author of fiction being ‘invisible’? Booth emphasizes that several works of fiction imagine an authorial impartiality. Specifically, authors make believe that they are not present in their characters’ voices. Yet, Booth asserts that the rhetoric of fiction is indispensable, indicating that the judgment of the author is consistently present, consistently obvious to anyone who has the knowledge how to look for it. 3) What are the three essential components of Bitzer’s rhetorical situation? The three essential components of Bitzer’s rhetorical situation are exigence, audience, constraints, life cycles of situation and fitting responses. 4) What quality did Mikhail Bakhtin find intriguing in the novels of Dostoevsky? Mikhail Bakhtin finds Dostoevsky’s novels as dialogical and intrinsically polyphonic, or composed of numerous voices. 7) What is the ultimate goal of Habermas’ theorizing? What is ‘communicative action?’ The goal of Habermas in theorizing is to reinforce the ‘project of modernity’ by rebuilding it through his theory of communication. Communicative action explains and puts down the groundwork for the essence of fair democracies and the rationalization for liberation from authoritarian political structures. Question for Review: (p. 272) 4) What is Derrida’s goal in ‘deconstruction’? How do his goals differ from those of Habermas? The dual objective of Derrida’s deconstruction is to introduce the dilemma of focused discourses and replace the limitations of metaphysics. Through the process of deconstruction, Derrida aims to expand the theoretical boundaries of the meaning of the text, favoring to examine the meaning in the boundaries of the text through clear semantic attempt and boundless interpretation. Derrida, in contrast to Habermas, is more concerned with the meaning of messages than on the political function of communication. 6) In your own words, what is the basic feminist criticism of the Western rhetorical tradition? The voices of women have been repressed from the Western rhetorical tradition. They were not accepted as scholars or theorists. Hence, no customary history of rhetoric takes into account women, encouraging many to assume that women had been unproductive in the traditions of persuasion. 9) What is unusual in the Greek tradition of rhetoric when compared to other rhetorical traditions? The Greek tradition of rhetoric recognizes its subject as an invention. Moreover, the teaching of rhetoric in ancient Greece is concerned mainly with schooling in public discourse. Because of this focus, a theory of public discourse developed, which formulated a wide-ranging technical vocabulary to define qualities of argument, style and delivery. 11) What is meant by the ‘rhetoric of display’? Rhetoric of display is rhetoric of entertainment, play, ceremony, and self-display. This form of rhetoric addresses virtue, nobility, beauty, nobility, excellence, honor, shame and vice. References Aristotle. (2004). Rhetoric. Dover Publications. Beale, W. H. (1987). A Pragmatic Theory of Rhetoric. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. Glenn, C. (1997). Rhetoric Retold: Regendering the Tradition from Antiquity through the Renaissance. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University. Golden, J. L. & Corbett, E.P. (1990). The Rhetoric of Blair, Campbell and Whately. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University. Natanson, M. & Johnstone, H.W. (Eds.). (1965). Philosophy, Rhetoric and Argumentation. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. Sonja, K. et al. (1985). Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric. Welch, K. E. (1990). The Contemporary Reception of Classical Rhetoric: Appropriations of Ancient Discourse. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Worthington, I. (Ed.). (1994). Persuasion: Greek Rhetoric in Action. New York: Routledge. Read More