Week 3: Aristotle's Arguments on Rhetoric

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In Aristotle's Rhetoric, Aristotle outlines the key aspects of rhetorical speech and defends the use of rhetorical devices (Ames, 2016, p.1).

Aristotle argued that rhetoric was useful because;

1. Although truth and justice often have the tendency to be naturally perceived as the correct judgement, if they are not perceived to be so (i.e. in a court), it is often the rhetorical skills of the speaker which are to blame. 
2. Knowledge and truth alone are not enough and effective means of persuasion and argument are necessary if you wish to produce the desired outcome. 
3. Rhetoric allows for us not just to develop our own methods of getting a message across but also to foresee the messages of the opposing side and develop rebuttals in advance. "No other art draws opposite conclusions; dialetic and rhetoric alone do this." (Aristotle, 350.B.C.E, n.p.)
4. Being able to defend yourself verbally is a skill that outweighs the benefits of being able defend yourself physically. Aristotle argues that a person with great talents of persuasion can bestow the greatest benefits or inflict the greatest injuries (Aristotle 350 B.C.E, n.p.).

Aristotle saw rhetorical for what it was; a universal discipline and an extremely useful skill. The function of rhetoric was not merely to persuade but to allow a person educated in rhetoric the skill to deduce the means being used to persuade us or available as a means of persuasion on any given subject (Aristotle, 350 B.C.E, n.p.). In order to command the skill of rhetoric, Aristotle argued that a man must be able to reason logically, understand both the human character and goodness in all forms and have the ability to understand emotions and the ways in which they can be manipulated (Aristotle, 350 B.C.E, n.p.).

References

Ames, K 2016, COMM12033 Speech & Script – Week 3: Rhetoric, Rockhampton, CQUniversity

Aristotle. (350 B.C.E.) Rhetoric. Rhys Roberts, W. (Trans). Retrieved from: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/rhetoric.mb.txt, accessed 12th April 2016.