Transcript Aristotle
Aristotle • Born in 384. • From the northwestern edge of the Greek Empire in Stagira. • Father was physician to King Amyntas of Macedonia. A Student of Plato • Aristotle came to Athens to study under Plato from the age of 18 to 37. • Eventually he classified the branches of knowledge into categories, including: physics, psychology, poetics, logic, and rhetoric. Tutor of Alexander the Great • Around 340 B.C., when he was over 40, Aristotle returned to his home, Stagira, and he became tutor to the king’s son, soon to become Alexander the Great. Alexander, through military campaigns, would later expand the empire of Greece to cover all of the Mideast reaching all the way to India. Not Forgotten over the Ages • Through the ages Aristotle has remained established as one of the greatest philosophers ever, which is why the famous seventeenth century Dutch artist Rembrandt represented him gazing at a bust of the Greek poet Homer, author of The Odyssey. • Four hundred years later, he isn’t forgotten, though we have a less sober way of appreciating historical leaders. Here we see him gazing at a more contemporary Homer. A Definition for Rhetoric • Rhetoric is, in essence, the art of persuasion, and Aristotle defined this art as "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." In other words, it is the art of finding the best way to persuade a particular audience in a particular situation. Aristotle’s Classical Appeals Aristotle identified three appeals that can be used to convince the audience. An appeal to ethos (to establish the speaker’s character and values). An appeal to pathos (to stir emotions). And an appeal to logos (to show the audience the logic and truth of the argument). The Rhetorical Triangle Logos Possible Distortion: Abstraction Subject Speaker Ethos Possible Distortion: Egotism Audience Pathos Possible Distortion: Propaganda • When you engage in rhetoric, you are related to the audience and your subject. A well-balanced argument gives attention to all three points of the triangle, establishing your authority (ethos), drawing the audience emotionally (pathos), and doing justice to the facts (logos). • However, if you give too much emphasis to facts, you can fall into a kind of distortion: making the subject seem cold and abstract. If you lean too much toward the audience, you can start to create propaganda. And if you put to much emphasis on your own character and values, you will seem egotistical. Links Activity A. Decide as a group a favorite place, hometown, major city, or recognizable location B. Student 1 make two statements that describe the place and support moving to or visiting the place and all students note. C. Student 2 will add two sentences that connect Student 1’s statements in some way to further support the thesis D. Student 3 will repeat the information and add two more sentences. E. Student 4 repeat the information and add two more sentences to support the argument Share, Reflect Subject Logos 1. Share your argument with the class 2. Complete the Links Response Sheet 3. Draw a small model of the rhetorical triangle at the bottom of your sheet and label your group’s argument Speaker Ethos AudiencePatho s The Writer The Reader • Uses multiple pieces of information as evidence or support to communicate an original position, a thesis • Each item of evidence is like a link to a chain • If evidence is clear, it builds on previous evidence • Reads information • Makes connections with all or parts of writing • Uses prior knowledge to fill any spaces left out by writer • Having made connections, makes meaning Final Notes Reflection 1. Quick Write to reflect • ALL writing seeks to communicate specific information to specific audience – the reader • Effective writing mirrors the stages of the links game • A reader should be able to follow a clear line of thinking from initial idea to conclusion Audience Analysis Part I Audience Analysis Part I • Write three short letters to report the news and seek assistance in regards to the ancient tree that fell to its death on the Georgetown College campus. Use your knowledge of the rhetorical triangle to plan each letter. • • • • 1: To Acme Tree Services (Clean-up) 2: To Mrs. Sims’ fourth grade class (Memory Service) 3: To the President of the Harbor Tree Foundation (Historical Nature Report) Reflect: 1.How did your pathos change towards different audiences in the letters? 2.How did your logos change towards different subjects in the letters? 3. How did your ethos change as a different speaker in each of the letters? Subject: Occasion: Audience: Purpose: Speaker: Tone: