Rhetoric Review
Rhetoric sounds dubious. Is it concerned about convincing people of what you think is right for you but not necessarily good for the person you want to convince. Is it about selling your ideas to gain power or wealth by overwhelming your audience with false arguments convincingly presented?
Aristotle tries to solve this dilemma insisting that all persuasion should be with the intention of making a contribution to happiness by furthering virtuous behavior. He also presents the methods you should use to convince people to believe you. I find the book useful from both points of view.
Aristotle explains very clearly that to be persuasive you have to be rational and have the ability to understand and arouse emotions of the audience in your favor.
The book was written as a kind of handbook to be used 2400 years ago. Most of it, but not all is still valid to day. It has become a common practice to use PowerPoint presentations to convince people. The method of Aristotle is about content, structure, logic and emotions. Some slides may still be useful, but if you really want to be successful you better focus on the content using Aristotle type argumentation. All people that have to make speeches or presentations will find a wealth of ideas in this book. I found it a pity that the book does not contain complete speeches of Aristotle. The book should be of special interest to politicians and leaders in business that have to address large audiences with somecritical and skeptical members. Aristotle's Rhetoric is an ancient Greek treatise on the art of persuasion, dating from the fourth century BCE. In Latin Ars Rhetorica. In English, its title varies: typically it is titled the Rhetoric, the Art of Rhetoric, or a Treatise on Rhetoric. Aristotle is generally credited with developing the basics of the system of rhetoric that "thereafter served as its touchstone", influencing the development of rhetorical theory from ancient through modern times. The Rhetoric is regarded by most rhetoricians as "the most important single work on persuasion ever written." Gross & Walzer concur, indicating that, just as Whitehead considered all Western philosophy a footnote to Plato, "all subsequent rhetorical theory is but a series of responses to issues raised" by Aristotle's Rhetoric. This is largely a reflection of disciplinary divisions, dating back to Peter Ramus's attacks on Aristotlean rhetoric in the late 1500s and continuing to the present.
Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology. Together with Plato and Socrates (Plato's teacher), Aristotle is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy. He was the first to create a comprehensive system of Western philosophy, encompassing morality and aesthetics, logic and science, politics and metaphysics. Aristotle's views on the physical sciences profoundly shaped medieval scholarship, and their influence extended well into the Renaissance, although they were ultimately replaced by modern physics. In the biological sciences, some of his observations were only confirmed to be accurate in the nineteenth century. His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, which were incorporated in the late nineteenth century into modern formal logic. In metaphysics, Aristotelianism had a profound influence on philosophical and theological thinking in the Islamic and Jewish traditions in the Middle Ages, and it continues to influence Christian theology, especially Eastern Orthodox theology, and the scholastic tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. All aspects of Aristotle's philosophy continue to be the object of active academic study today. -Wikipedia
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Aristotle Rhetoric - D. Goodale -
I never received the book however I was charged for it the day I ordered it. I have emailed the seller twice with no response. I would like a refund immediately.
Jun 04, 2010 07:24:03
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