{"id":11,"date":"2013-01-11T17:13:53","date_gmt":"2013-01-12T01:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/?p=11"},"modified":"2013-01-11T17:14:03","modified_gmt":"2013-01-12T01:14:03","slug":"a-look-at-aristotles-rhetoric-and-platos-phaedrus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/2013\/01\/11\/a-look-at-aristotles-rhetoric-and-platos-phaedrus\/","title":{"rendered":"A look at Aristotle’s Rhetoric and Plato’s Phaedrus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aristotle’s Rhetoric Book 1<\/a> begins with a description of Dialectic and Rhetoric. Dialectic language is a general term Aristotle uses for a logical method in which truth is discussed or revealed. In his view both are terms of communication, however, rhetoric can be utilized in conversation to\u00a0assert\u00a0one’s self. He also compares rhetoric to an art form, one that can\u00a0persuade\u00a0an audience or listener. Enthymemes are the elements which can make conversation (be it Dialectic or neutral in argument) the art form which Aristotle declare’s as rhetoric. Examples of Enthymemes are “prejudice, pity and anger” , all of which could potentially cloud one’s vision of ‘truth’. These enthymemes are critical to rhetoric because they give one’s personal argument or statement an advantage over her or his opponent. Aristotle explains that using these methods\u00a0comprise\u00a0the ‘art’ of rhetoric\/ persuasion.<\/p>\n

Aristotle’s Rhetoric Book 2\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0provides a deeper look into rhetoric and persuasion by categorizing and defining the tools of these art forms. In Aristotle’s definition persuasion is a method of rhetorical argument. As one learns to use persuasion by manipulating the enthymemes, the facts she or he is \u00a0arguing can resonate or disturb the listener(s). Also, he notes that there exists certain aspects of persuasion beyond one’s control including “witnesses, evidence given under torture, written contracts and so on”. Although, these elements are out of ones control (including a refreshing dip into the pool when\u00a0water boarded), however, through tactical choice of words a person can earn the persuasion she or he desires. Aristotle claims that if one is powerful enough in their conviction, emotion, language and connection with the audience, that person can potentially become a ‘warrior’ of rhetoric.<\/p>\n

Aristotle Rhetoric Book 3<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

From Phaedrus<\/a>\u00a0This Platonian dialogue between Socrates and Phaedrus discusses a wide range of topics from love, communication, writing and rhetoric. The account commences with Socrates explaining to Phaedrus that discourse is essentially the context of language and vocabulary under the general umbrella of communication. The main concept of wisdom which Plato emphasizes is understanding and knowing the truth.<\/em>\u00a0With\u00a0truth, one can\u00a0successfully\u00a0argue her or his thoughts, and build off of these facts with other vocabulary which could invoke emotion in the audience. He also recognizes the existence of liars which also utilize the truth. However, the difference between a liar and a philosopher, is that the liar comprehends how to utilize the truth in\u00a0mischievous\u00a0ways in order to take advantage of a situation or people.<\/p>\n

In his discussion with Phaedrus, Plato compares discourse to a living organism:<\/p>\n

“At any rate, you will allow that every discourse ought to be a living creature, having a body of its own and\u00a0a head and feet; there should be a middle, beginning, and end, adapted to one another and to the whole?” pg 6.\u00a0<\/em>This quote can be compared to A Bloggers Blog\u00a0<\/a>where Dana Boyd describes how a blog can become corporeal or one considers a blog as an extension of one’s self. This theme of mental (or physical) extension can be viewed again when Socrates explains the ideological problem with writing:<\/p>\n

“And in this instance, you who are the father of letters, from a paternal love of your own children have\u00a0been led to attribute to them a quality which they cannot have; for this discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in\u00a0the learners\u2019 souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not\u00a0remember of themselves. The specific which you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and\u00a0you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have\u00a0learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company,having the show of wisdom without the reality.\u201d pg 14\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Thus, the ‘sin’ which Plato eludes to is, that of a scholar relying on the physical information rather than depending upon his own mind and memory. In today’s society people view technology and mass literacy as a positive achievement. Although, technology has paved the way for mass\u00a0communication\u00a0and the creation of new cultures, citizens in this technological age must step back and observe the changes in our social nature which rapid technology is creating. Technology’s Toll<\/a>
\n<\/em>is an article which focuses on such problems, contemporary youth face in this age. Have people’s reliance upon immediate literature and digital files infringed upon our memories and inner wisdom?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aristotle’s Rhetoric Book 1 begins with a description of Dialectic and Rhetoric. Dialectic language is a general term Aristotle uses for a logical method in which truth is discussed or revealed. In his view both are terms of communication, however, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":407,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","kk_blocks_editor_width":"","_kiokenblocks_attr":"","_kiokenblocks_dimensions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"gutentor_comment":3,"qubely_featured_image_url":null,"qubely_author":{"display_name":"Ezequiel","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/author\/ezeo\/"},"qubely_comment":3,"qubely_category":"Uncategorized<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"Aristotle’s Rhetoric Book 1 begins with a description of Dialectic and Rhetoric. Dialectic language is a general term Aristotle uses for a logical method in which truth is discussed or revealed. In his view both are terms of communication, however, … Continue reading →","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/407"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions\/26"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/ezequielolvera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}