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Mind-boggling Biblical Burke
Burke’s readings were particularly interesting to me, both because he examined things like “the rhetoric of witchcraft” and Darwinism and Biblical rhetoric and because of his concept of terministic screens. While I’m still not entirely sure that I got everything he intended me to get out of it, I enjoyed the fact that he... »
(Re)Defining Rhetoric
Based on the readings for the week, it seems to me that the 20th century recovery of rhetoric is about defining what is entailed when we talk about rhetoric. Not necessarily satisfied with the way rhetoric was being treated, intellectuals like Kenneth Burke and Chaim Perelman took it upon themselves to remind us what... »
Distinctions are What We Make Them: West v. East
The readings about Chinese rhetoric struck me as just that– readings about how others read Chinese rhetoric, rather than a way to get to the source of something and really understand it by myself. Moreover, because I would never understand Chinese rhetoric without a translator, this week’s readings made me think heavily about... »
Puzzles of philosophers
I am dazzled after reading Sutra and Rushd and wordless to express my thoughts. The readings appear to be just an argument for the sake of an argument. One thing can never be denied that every effect has its cause, even a very minor thing in this world like moving glass from one place... »
Indian/Persian Rhetoric: The Use of Examples
Use of Examples “East is more mystical and less interested in systematic thinking” Indian and Persian classical rhetoric dates back to 150BCE; a time period where the world sought knowledge through lived experiences and the stories of their early ancestors. The concept of technology was non-existent, and question pertaining to science were left unanswered due to... »
Creating a “New” Rhetoric
I completely agree with what Joel has written about the sense of caring and sharing in the Nyaya rhetorical perspective. It appears that within that system of dialogue and debate, the goal is to come to a common understanding of a situation and not merely about defeating an opponent. While some of the readings... »
Socrates on rhetoric
The Socratic Dialogue is an interesting reading about the definition and use of rhetoric. In my opinion rhetoric is the game of words; an artificer of persuasion that creates belief about just among the masses. The rhetoricians convince men that his point of view is true, therefore he should be true. I think the... »
Exhibit A: Irony.
In Plato’s “Gorgias,” the rhetorician Gorgias is answering questions freely about his profession, and the philosopher Socrates approaches with plenty of questions to ask, ones about what the art of rhetoric is, whether it is in fact an art, and what use it has in the world. Socrates, as a philosopher, is doubtful... »
Where’s My Toga?
Time to break out the white sheets and sling them over our shoulders to create togas. The only way to truly understand Greek philosophers like Plato and Isocrates is to become one of them…and even then it gets difficult. When reading Plato’s Gorgias, I found myself continually flipping back and forth between pages to... »
Week 1: “This post will fill your mind with wonder! Read it, it will make you better” . . . Rhetoric: The art of persuasion, not of truth.
Now that I have grasped the reader’s attention through the employment of rhetoric, though I am no famous rhetorician like Gorgias , I will use the aforementioned attention to discuss Plato’s Gorgias. Having one-half of the class title (i.e. History of Rhetoric) steeping in my brain upon beginning the text, I could not help but think the... »