THE ELEMENTS OF

ARGUMENT

Aristotelian & Ciceronian Rhetorical Models

WHAT IS RHETORIC?

According to Aristotle, rhetoric is “the faculty of knowing in any

given case the available means of persuasion.”

Rhetoric is an art of discourse and the counterpart to dialectic.

How something is said conveys as much as what is said:

• The how = rhetorical form, strategy, device (rhetoric)

• The what = content, topic and position (dialectic)

The primary focus of rhetoric is effective transmission of a message

to an intended audience in order to move them to act or change.

RHETORIC: BREAK IT DOWN

“…the faculty of knowing in any given case the available means of

persuasion.”

What does this statement mean? Define its terms.

• A faculty:

• To know:

• A given case:

• Available means:

• Persuasion:

ARGUMENTATION

A mode of dialogue or discourse

A challenge of opposing viewpoints

A formal debate or trial

An examination of a claim’s proofs

A critical investigation of a position

An analytical refutation

A method of intellectual discovery

A means for solving a problem

COMMUNICATION

Three primary parts of communication:

• Sender (encoding/outgoing)

• Receiver (decoding/incoming)

• Message (the code/information)

Success of transmission depends on the sender’s ability to translate his or her ideas into a message the receiver can understand/interpret.

How a sender transforms ideas into a communicable message is part of rhetorical theory: it is the how, not the what.

EXIGENCE

“Any exigence is an imperfection marked by urgency; it

is a defect, an obstacle, something waiting to be done, a

thing which is other than it should be.”

“In any rhetorical situation there will be at least one

controlling exigence which functions as the organizing

principle: it specifies the audience to be addressed and

the change to be effected.”

from Lloyd F. Bitzer’s “The Rhetorical Situation”

EXIGENCY: THE WHY

If there is no urgent matter and no problem, there is no reason to make an argument.

Exigency answers:

• So what?

• Who cares?

• What’s at stake?

• What are the consequences?

• Motivating factors for change or action?

RHETORICAL SITUATION

This is what surrounds the

argument, motivates the rhetor,

and the external elements of the

argument itself:

• Background context

• Problem

• Exigency

• Author

• Audience

• Argument

Rhetorical

Situation

Audience Argument

Author

ARISTOTLE’S

RHETORICAL TRIANGLE

Pathos Logos

Ethos

ARISTOTLE’S APPEALS

Persuasion occurs through three kinds of proofs

(pistis) or persuasive appeals:

• ETHOS: The persuasive appeal of one's character.

• PATHOS: The appeal to emotion.

• LOGOS: The appeal to reason.

Rhetorical

Appeals

Pathos:

Emotion

Logos:

Reason

Ethos:

Authority/Credibility

Aristotle calls these artistic or intrinsic proofs—

those that could be found by means of the art of

rhetoric—in contrast to "nonartistic" or "extrinsic"

proofs, e.g. witnesses or contracts that are simply

used by the speaker (non-rhetorical). from Aristotle’s Ars Rhetorica. 1.2.2-3

Adapted from BYUs

PERSUASIVE APPEALS

Ethos • the appeal of character or authority

This concerns the ways in which an author establishes credibility or believability for the audience.

A strong rhetorician inspires confidence in his or her word through the use of:

• credible sources• respectful acknowledgement of the opposition• fair and logical refutations• the orderly, clear, invested delivery of the case

Ethos must be demonstrated first for logos to work.

Adapted from BYUs

PERSUASIVE APPEALS

Logos • the appeal to reason

Aristotle holds that this is the most important of the appeals for its

privileging of empirical evidence, facts, and the pursuit of TRUTH.

Translates as: word, reason, argument, oration, language, logic

Outside of academy and the sciences, logos is rarely the most

dominant appeal used in rhetoric. Even more rarely is it the grounds

upon which personal, professional, and political decisions are made.

Adapted from BYUs

PERSUASIVE APPEALS

Pathos • the appeal to emotion & values

Emotion derives from the Latin emovere, meaning to "move out, agitate."

Hence, to move someone is to stir up feelings within them.

Aristotle claims that this is the least important of the three appeals

where truth value is concerned. It is, conversely, the most effective on

popular audiences, something he laments.

Pathos in scholarship is best reserved for the conclusion—closing

arguments—and only sparingly if at all elsewhere in rhetorical address.

Adapted from BYUs

Invention

Arrangement

Style

Memory

Delivery

CICERO’S FIVE CANONS

INVENTIO

Invention is the process of dis|covering—the search for something

worthwhile and meaningful to say, from the Latin invenire, "to find."

Logos driven—what the author’s message is, getting to the thesis.

Invention describes the argumentative, persuasive core of rhetoric.

Aristotle, in fact, defines rhetoric primarily as invention, "discovering the best

available means of persuasion."

Topics of Invention, from the Greek topoi (places for discovery):

Definition Division/Classification Comparison

Relationship Circumstance Testimony

Adapted from BYUs

Arrangement deals with ordering ideas—

the organization of information/proofs.

The exordium or introduction is where

credibility—ethos—is established for both

the argument and the author.

The body of the discourse develops

around logic, evidence, and analysis—logos.

The conclusion provides the most moving

and memorable presentation of the

argument—pathos. Here the author focuses

on connecting to the audience.

Introduction Ethos

Statement of

Facts

LogosDivision

Proof

Refutation

Conclusion Pathos

DISPOSITIO

Adapted from BYUs

ELOCUTIO

Style embodies the artful, tasteful, and

distinctive verbal expressions of ideas.

Rhetoric has often been reduced to mere ornamentation ; however,

ornament was not superficial in classical and renaissance rhetoric.

To ornament (ornare : to equip, fit out, or supply) means dressing

thought and feeling in verbal expression to adequately or appropriately

reflect the experience. • An explicit, outward appearance of inward sense of meaning or value

• Analogous to “dressing (ideas) for the occasion”

Adapted from BYUs

Style deals with the way information is conveyed, especially through the use

of figurative language, diction, and rhetorical devices:

Antithesis Rhetorical Question Metonymy Metaphor

Hyperbole Understatement Frankness Conciseness

The virtues of style deal in grammar, effective and affective appeals, the

decorum, and the importance of ornamenting language

Three Styles:

• Grand: ornate arrangement of impressive words and inflated langauge

• Middle: relaxed but not colloquial, often meanders without getting to the point

• Simple: idiomatic, meager, terse but fails to provide clear purpose or point

ELOCUTIO

Adapted from BYUs

Memory is the "treasury of things invented“ (Ad Herennium). • Research, exposure, and experience are the foundations of memory—

the storing up of useful tools, materials, and knowledge.

Historically, memory pertained to oration, rather than to written text.

In contemporary rhetoric, memory has two distinct parts:• The author’s working store of information (related to invention) • How well an audience learns target information (receives/retains message)

Certain rhetorical devices help crystallize a message into audience memory

Imagery(ecphrasis) Repetition Mnemonics Enumeration

For example: MLK Jr.’s use of anaphora: “I have a dream…”

MEMORIA

Adapted from BYUs

Delivery deals with the non-verbal communication of how something is

said (implicit, demonstrative), rather than with what is said (content or style):

• From the Greek word for "acting," i.e. vocal training and use of gestures

Delivery originally referred to oration, but more broadly pertains to the

author’s presentation—an authenticity in both message and intention:

Authorial Voice Tone Visual Elements Format

Modern rhetorical delivery embodies appropriateness (code shifting) and

McLuhan's notion of matching form-to-function

• A sincerity & confidence implied by the author’s voice, method, and message

PRONUNTATIO

Adapted from BYUs