Classical and Modern Rhetoric

Paper Summary:

The paper defines the concept of rhetoric as a strategy through which exploration of concepts can be achieved. The paper explores classic and modern rhetoric in order to achieve an understanding of rhetoric and its purpose. The paper outlines the transformations in the perception and use of rhetoric and shows how this tool of communication now helps to expand thought instead of being used specifically to convince others.

Outline:
Introduction
Classic Rhetoric
The Emergence of Modern Rhetoric
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The emergence of rhetoric within ancient Greece came to pass after the popularization of sophist inquiry. Sophism as a debate tool enabled the speaker to argue any given point regardless of its factual accuracy, a process that empowered those engaged in the dialogue to explore all possible tangents leading from a core concept. Yet while sophism was powerful as a means of expanding the limits of thought, it was not appropriate as a means of identifying core truths within a debate. Following the works of Plato in which truth and internal integrity were championed as fundamentals of existence, sophism was not a sustainable concept."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Aristotle. The Art of Rhetoric (Trans. W. D. Ross). Retrieved 16 September 2006 from http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aristot.+Rh.+1.1.1
• Aristotle. On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse. Oxford, New York. 1992.
• Cicero. On the Ideal Orator (Trans. James M. May and Jakob Wisse). Oxford University Press, Cambridge. 2001.
• Kelly, Donald R. and Sacks, David H. The Historical Imagination in Early Modern Britain: History, Rhetoric, and Fiction, 1500-1800. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (UK). 2002.
• Herrick, James A. The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction (Second Ed.). Allyn and Bacon: Needham Heights, MA. 2000.

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