KWB115 Lecture Notes - Dialectic, Cognitive Dissonance, Guilt Trip
2 Jun 2018
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pKWB115: Persuasive Writing
Week 3 Lecture: Classic Persuasion and Rhetoric
Objective
• Recognise Aristotle’s rhetorical proofs
• Understand the role of an enthymeme
• Analyse texts in terms of their rhetorical appeals
• Evaluate the efficacy of such appeals
Assessment
• Due March 29th
• Choose two readings from weeks 2,3,4 or 5 from Blackboard
• 800-1000 analysis/ evaluation
• Compare and contrasts the persuasive strategies employed
• Identify techniques used in both readings, analyse their similiarities and
differences, analyse effectiveness, based on your opinion supported by
evidence from the readings
• Better to talk about why one is better than the other
• If you talk about why both are equally good than you have to still be able to
point out bad and vice versa
Rhetoric
• Brought forth by aristotle
• Rhetoric has negative connotations now – linked to politicians
• Tend to assume it is trickery to disguise or dupe
• “Gotta look past the rhetoric” etc. is a modern use
• Originally meant “using spoken word to persuade people”
Aristotle and Rhetoric
• Aristoltle: student of Plato – Athens, 4th century BC
• Extraordinary time in universal thinking
• Three of the greatest minds existed in this time: Socrates who taught Plato
who taught Aristotle
Socrates:
• Socrates left no writings (was a spoken word lecturer) but Plato wrote down
much of what he said
• First academic in the Western world
• Wanted to ban poetry and laughter
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Talks about illusions (e.g. sticks in lakes) that destroy society
• Hasn’t been a similar situation of great minds following one another in a while
Back to Aristotle
• In the 4th century BC, Athens was a city state (participatory democracy)
• We now have representative democracy (i.e. elections) that chooses leaders
to speak for those it represents
• In participatory democracy, everyone could vote (excluding women and
slaves of course)
• Lots of exploration of the idea of persuasion as anyone could persuade
another to go along with what they believed
• Each major city in the now Greece area was its own state
• Wordsmiths would do the make, write, and teach speeches to or for others
• Plato did not approve of this
• Aristotle recognised that persuasive techniques that could do great good or
great harm
• His Rhetoric sets out various means of persuasion – explored the idea that
persuasion could be good or bad
• Aristotle wanted people to read this alongside his ideas of virtue (prudence,
temperance, courage, justice)
• Objectively outlines the types of persuasion – uses the means as tools for
people to use
• Initially based on spoken word, but can be applied to text - text was not a big
deal back then, very dialogue driven society
• It was written by his students so a lot of it could be wrong
• Annoys some people but it is an important text
Rhetoric
• Rhetoric is “concerned with the modes of persuasion”
• Classic rhetoric as an off-shoot of the dialectic
• Dialectic: exchange of two points of view on equal terms, point A and point B
• Rhetoric: one-way process, trying to make the truth seem more probable to an
unconvinced audience
o Must convince the audience it is truthful, plausible, likely and necessary
• Effective rhectorician: someone who can see what is persuasive (reading the
crowd), seeing what is persuasive in different circumstances and adjusting
• Seeing what is persuasive in different cases
• Need to be adaptable to convince the audience – looking at their bias and
what techniques will be effective
• Believes that all goods (except the virtues) could be misused → needed you
to understand his virtues to understand his other teachings
• Virtues = golden mean → refers to someone who avoids extremes in any
different circumstance
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Objective: recognise aristotle"s rhetorical proofs, understand the role of an enthymeme, analyse texts in terms of their rhetorical appeals, evaluate the efficacy of such appeals. Assessment: due march 29th, choose two readings from weeks 2,3,4 or 5 from blackboard, 800-1000 analysis/ evaluation, compare and contrasts the persuasive strategies employed. Identify techniques used in both readings, analyse their similiarities and differences, analyse effectiveness, based on your opinion supported by evidence from the readings: better to talk about why one is better than the other. If you talk about why both are equally good than you have to still be able to point out bad and vice versa. Rhetoric: brought forth by aristotle, rhetoric has negative connotations now linked to politicians, tend to assume it is trickery to disguise or dupe. Gotta look past the rhetoric etc. is a modern use: originally meant using spoken word to persuade people .
