Rhetoric

Classical and Modern Rhetoric

The social and ideological importance of persuasion as an act of inclining insight amongst one 's fellow man is , whether we recognize it or not , present in all aspects of modern life . From the election of our political leaders to the decision over which dish detergent to purchase we are at the mercy of the rhetorical aims of innumerable parties and principles . But as a historical understanding of this phenomenon suggests , so has this been the case throughout the history of democratic social organization , where the need for

leaders to earn the support of some sector of the public had begun to instigate an interest in public expression as a means to conveying information , positions and a response of ascendance to these same qualities

The pre-Socratic Sophists of Greek origin were among the first to connect the intellectual demands of philosophical examination with exercises in public discourse . The Sophists would be distinctive for their novel , at that time , interest in the improvement of collective intellectual wherewithal through meaningful public discourse Therefore , the early Sophists took a vested interest in clarifying the relationship between language and reality and the way in which grammatical consistency and definitional clarity could aid human discourse (Angelini , 1 ) Thus , the Greeks would help to develop a firm academic relationship between the mechanical ability to express one 's self , the intellectual ability to use knowledge to intuit further knowledge and the verbal dexterity to communicate effectively and persuasively those intuitions of merit or relevance to the public . This accounts for the part of rhetoric as one in a triad of foundational disciplines in Greek educational grooming , functioning as an extension upon grammar and as an application of dialact

Still , within the hands of the Sophists , rhetoric was not necessarily a noble cause . Instead , its value appeared to be contained almost strictly within its representation of the human ingenuity to speak with a persuasion and to the accomplishment of specific end goals . In a manner , this line of thinking would be foundational to the use of the law and the courts then and today . The idea that the effectiveness of one 's argument may play a more important role than the accuracy of his claims or the strength of his position in determining his prospects for success in a court of law is deeply couched in the sometime ironic or internally contradictory intent of sophistry . Here , merit is less directly a factor to one 's argument than is his ability to compel others in his constitution and presentation of the argument

However , the generations of thinkers that would succeed the Sophists would be distinctly interested in improving the applications of rhetoric by grounding them in more concrete ethical underpinnings . Thus , with the passage of time , thinkers such as Aristotle would designate considerable verbiage to refining our shared understanding of this relationship . As Aristotle would suggest , rhetoric is the counterpart of Dialectic . It is a subject that can be treated systematically . The argumentative modes of...