As I sat down to write about my thoughts on rhetoric, the
first thing that came to mind is that in writing this I am trying to persuade
your thoughts or opinions regarding rhetoric.
How can I persuade you to see this very idea the way I do?
To me, rhetoric is the ability to present an idea in a
persuasive and effective way that either leads you to agree with me or starts a
dialogue or argument between us. The First Chapter of Everything’s an Argument showed me all of the ways argument is used
every day by every one; to persuade, inform, convince, explore, make decisions,
or meditate and pray. When I opened the
local paper this past Sunday I couldn’t believe my eyes, as the very timely
article “Rhetoric defines economic fight”
was on the front page of the Forum section, with a large picture of Barack
Obama. The article described how both
Obama and Mitt Romney have established their own individualized brand of
rhetoric in their political campaigns.
It also emphasized how important it will be for their credibility that
the voters believe the candidates are staying true to the rhetoric they have
contrived as their political platform.
Moving from a specific example like a political campaign to the
various ways persuasion may be used, I was intrigued by the breakdown of
persuasion into the three basic methods: logos, pathos, and ethos. Without even
realizing it, we move between these different methods to meet or accomplish our
goals or personal agendas. Logos appeals
to logic, pathos appeals to emotion, and ethos appeals to character. Does the perfect argument really exist? Can a
single argument, be logical, appeal to values through emotion, and be spoken
from a place of authority, probably not.
However, there is one last term that is important to know from the
lecture and that is kairos, which represents the opportune or most supreme
moment. So the final thought I want to leave you with in regards to persuasion
or rhetoric is that… Timing is everything! Even the best argument will be
rejected if it is delivered at an inopportune time.
I certainly enjoyed reading your blog because it showed exactly how much you began thinking, even before today's class, about the ways in which rhetoric is in your life. However, given that your audience, professor Cummings and your classmates, have watched and read the same assignments you have, there was no need to give definitions of any vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteMatt, I like your example of looking at the newspaper article. In fact, I'm really curious if the newspaper authors used the word rhetoric the same way as our book. Here's an interesting note . . . the rhetoric has been used in many different ways throughout the centuries . . . and even as we speek. This partly what makes the topic seem simple, though it is actually complex. This is also why we'll be developing our notion of rhetoric throughout this class. These are good thoughts (and questions) to start off with.
ReplyDelete