A summary of my thoughts and notes on the Rhetoric, Book 1.
Keep in Mind
Rhetoric is a faculty for structuring arguments, not a science studied to discern the truth.
But in proportion, as anyone attempts to make of dialectic or rhetoric, not what they are, faculties, but sciences, to that extent he will, without knowing it, destroy their real nature, in thus altering their character by crossing over into the domain of sciences whose subjects are certain definite things, not merely arguments.
First Principles
Enthymeme: A syllogism with an unstated, rhetorical permise
- “Socrates is mortal because he is human.”
Formal Syllogism:
- “All humans are mortal.” (unstated)
- “Socrates is human.” (stated)
- “Therefore, Socrates is mortal.” (stated)
Enthymemes allow a speaker to use the audience’s reasoning to supply the unstated premise.
Example: A rhetorical induction
- “He saved his money, and eventually bought a house.”
Can be inducted into:
- “Saving money allows one to buy a house.”
Or alternatively (as a proveb),
- “Saving money allows one to buy a house.”
Can be inducted into:
- “He should save his money since he wants to buy a house.”
Examples allow a speaker to use the audience’s reasoning to induct the associated premise.
The Means of Persuasion
- The character of the speaker
- Putting the listener into a certain frame of mind
- The speech itself, in so far as it proves or seems to prove
Types of Rhetoric
Deliberative: Future - Horatory/Dissuasive - Expedient/Harmful - Examples
Used for making decisions on future actions.
For example, new legislation, company directives, and choosing where to eat dinner.
Epidiectic: Present - Praise/Blame - Honorable/Disgraceful - Amplification
Used for expressing sentiment about an individual.
For example, media appearances, celebrations, and gossiping.
Forensic: Past - Accusatory/Defensive - Just/Unjust - Enthymemes
Used for determing if someone has done wrong.
For example, court cases, “lessons learned”, diciplining your kids.
Action, Virtue and Vice, Excess and Restrained
One can frame an argument about an action and its consequences using this table’s concepts.
| Action | Virtue | Vice | Excess | Restrained |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punishment | Justice | Injustice | Harsh | Equitable |
| Conviction | Courage | Cowardice | Foolish | Sensible |
| Spending | Liberality | Avarace | Wasteful | Efficient |
| Display | Magnificance | Baseness | Inflated | Understated |
| Obedience | Temperance | Licentiousness | Restricted | Resourceful |
| Forgiveness | Magnanimy | Small-mindedness | Unpunishing | Ruthless |
| Empathy | Gentleness | Emotionlessness | Pushover | Stoic |
| Knowledge | Wisdom | Ignorance | Single-minded | Open-minded |
Virtue = Performing action, causing good
Vice = Not performing action, causing bad
Excess = Performing action, causing bad
Restrained = Not performing action, causing good
Example: Discussion about conviction of a soldier
About a soldier who survived
Party of Praise: Despite almost certain demise, he fought courageously while his legion routed.
Party of Blame: His foolishness will eventually lead to death and loss of our most elite troops.
About a soldier who died
Party of Blame: Though defeat was looming, he foolishly fought while the rest of his legion retreated.
Party of Praise: His courage shows he was willing to fight for the cause, even in at pain of death.