Communication and Liberal
Arts:
- Study of the Liberal Arts began with the ancient
Greeks. The original liberal arts included Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic
as well as arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy.
- The study of rhetoric by the Greeks represents the
beginning of the field of Communication. Rhetoric for the Greeks meant
"persuasion" but in more modern terms means "effective communication."
- The most well developed ideas about rhetoric
originated in Athens between 500 and 300 BCE. This is not surprising
because the city of Athens was one of the earliest democracies in the world.
The ability to speak and persuade became very important there.
- In Athens, citizens elected their leaders and made
political decisions by direct vote in assemblies. All citizens were
able to participate (but only free males were considered citizens. Those who
were able to influence others through effective speaking were able to exert
power and influence the policies of the city.
- While Athens had courts, there were no lawyers.
Both accusers and defendants had to speak for themselves in order to attempt
to sway a jury (of 500 citizens).
Speech and Education in
Greece and Rome:
The Sophists
- itinerant teachers of speech in ancient Greece
- Gorgias - believed that the
relationship between speaker and audience is linear and one way.
Adiences are passive and speakers "fill them up" with knowledge and
moves them to action. Gorgias focused his teaching on use of
powerful words and emotions, effective phrases.
- Protagoras - believed that anything
can be argued. He taught that it is important to know both (all)
sides of any issue and to prepare to argue any side as a way to discover
which view is most accurate or in our best interest.
The Formal Schools
- Isocrates - operated a rigorous
school that emphasized speech and rhetoric. He taught that it is
impossible for anyone to know what is good and right in every situation.
Therefore, he argued that we must use our judgment to find what is
probably best. Thus, speakers must be ethical and broadly
knowledgeable. He emphasized both style and content in speaking but did
not teach specific rules or procedures. Rather, he thought
extensive practice and constant involvement in the affairs of the
community produced the best results. He is remembered for
focusingon kairos, meeting the needs of the occasion.
- Plato - a student of Socrates, is one of
the great philosophers of the western world. He did not, however,
agree with the sophists and feared that rhetoric could be used to
deceive and distort the truth. Plato believed that the way to the
"good life" was through the study of philosophy and a dialectic search
for the truth. Only when the truth was discovered should leaders
engage in rhetoric. Thus, Plato favored a government of
philosopher-kings over democracy.
- Aristotle - a student of Plato (and
teacher of Alexander the Great). He wrote a book called
Rhetoric, as well as a number of other works on such topics as
ethics, logic and science. Aristotle thought that rhetoric and the
"marketplace of ideas" allowed for truth and justice to (eventually)
prevail. He also saw rehtoric as functioning in teaching, in
analyzing an issue (decision-making), and in defending oneself.
Aristotle concluded that there are three primary forms of "artistic
proof" used by persuaders: ethos (character and
credibility), pathos (emotion) and logos
(logic). Inartistic proofs involved the qualities of evidence used
to prove assertions.
Cicero (Roman) and the
Five Canons of Rhetoric
- Invention - discovering the best arguments
for your position.
- Arrangement - determining the most
effective organizational pattern for the points you will make.
- Style - choosing the best words and
phrasing, level of formality.
- Delivery - the manner of physically and
vocally presenting the speech.
- Memory - the ability to speak without
notes recalling important facts and arguments.
Quintilian (Roman)
saw a strong relationship between rhetoric and
civic engagement. For him the purposes of rhetoric included:
defending the truth, protecting the innocent, preventing criminal behavior,
inspiring the military, and inspiring the public.
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