American Rhetorical Tradition 8/7
Three kinds of Persuasive Discourse
· Deliberative
o Aims to persuade someone to do something or believe something
o Concerned with the future
· Judicial
o Aims to defend or condemn someone’s actions
o Concerned with the past
· Ceremonial
o Aims to please or inspire
o Concerned with the present
The Five Canons of Rhetoric
· Inventio (Invention or discovery)
o The skill of creating or discovering arguments
o Differs from arguments which do not require rhetorical invention, such as witnesses in a court case
· Dispositio (arrangement or organization)
o The proper organization of an argument
· Elocutio (style)
o Difficult to define precisely, but concerned with the choice of words and the arrangement of sentences
· Memoria (memory)
o The ability to memorize a speech
· Pronuntiatio
o The proper pronunciation of words, also the overall delivery of the speech (hand gestures, etc.)
8/10
3 Kinds of Rhetorical Appeal
· Logos
o Rational/logical argument. Can be either:
§ Deductive- drawing conclusions from general propositions
§ Inductive- making generalizations based on observed facts
· Pathos
o Emotional appeal to the passions
· Ethos
o An appeal based on the character of the speaker, especially as evinced by the speech
8/12
Invention: Topics (topoi)
· Topics
o Strategies or stock ideas to help discovery/invent arguments
o Divided into two types, common and special
· Common topics
o Apply to all situations
o All common topics have sub-topics
§ Definition
· Genus
· Division
§ Comparison
· Similarity
· Difference
· Degree
§ Relationship
· Cause and Effect
· Antecedent and Consequent
· Contraries
· Contradictions
§ Circumstance
· Possible and impossible
· Past Fact and Future Fact
§ Testimony
· Authority
· Testimonial
· Statistics
· Maxims
· Laws
· Precedents
· Special Topics
o Grouped according to the three kinds of persuasive discourse: deliberative, judicial, and ceremonial
o Deliberative
§ Worthy: what is good in itself
§ Advantageous: what is useful to get some other good
o Judicial
§ Justice/injustice
o Cermonial
§ Virtues and Vices
§ Personal Assets and Achievements
8/13
Arrangement/Organization
· Introduction
o Informs the audience of the ends or objects of the discourse
o Disposes the audience to be receptive to the speaker
o At the end of the introduction, the reader should be attentive/benevolent/docile
· Statement of Fact
o Inform or remind the audience of essential information
o Should be lucid/brief/plausible (Quintilian)
8/14
Arrangement/Organization
· Confirmation
o the statement of your argument
· Refutation
o Rebuttals to counterarguments
o Refutation by
§ Reason (logos)
§ Emotion (pathos)
§ Character (ethos)
§ Wit
o Each of these has advantages and disadvantages
· Conclusion
o Remind the audience of your overall argument