Aristotle

1
Aristotle

• Born in 384.
• From the northwestern edge of the Greek Empire in
  Stagira.
• Father was physician to King Amyntas of Macedonia.

2
A Student of Plato

• Aristotle came to Athens to study under Plato
  from the age of 18 to 37.
• Eventually he classified the branches of
  knowledge into categories, including physics,
  psychology, poetics, logic, and rhetoric.

3
Tutor of Alexander the Great

• Around 340 B.C., when he was over 40, Aristotle
  returned to his home, Stagira, and he became
  tutor to the kings son, soon to become Alexander
  the Great. Alexander, through military
  campaigns, would later expand the empire of
  Greece to cover all of the Mideast reaching all
  the way to India.

4
Not Forgotten over the Ages

• Through the ages Aristotle has remained
  established as one of the greatest philosophers
  ever, which is why the famous seventeenth century
  Dutch artist Rembrandt represented him gazing at
  a bust of the Greek poet Homer, author of The
  Odyssey.
• Four hundred years later, he isnt forgotten,
  though we have a less sober way of appreciating
  historical leaders. Here we see him gazing at a
  more contemporary Homer.

5
A Definition for Rhetoric

• Rhetoric is, in essence, the art of persuasion,
  and Aristotle defined this art as "the faculty
  of observing in any given case the available
  means of persuasion." In other words, it is the
  art of finding the best way to persuade a
  particular audience in a particular situation.

6
Aristotles Classical Appeals

• Aristotle identified three appeals that can be
  used to convince the audience. An appeal to
  ethos (to establish the speakers character and
  values). An appeal to pathos (to stir emotions).
  And an appeal to logos (to show the audience the
  logic and truth of the argument).

7
The Rhetorical Triangle

• When you engage in rhetoric, you are related to
  the audience and your subject. A well-balanced
  argument gives attention to all three points of
  the triangle, establishing your authority
  (ethos), drawing the audience emotionally
  (pathos), and doing justice to the facts (logos).
• However, if you give too much emphasis to facts,
  you can fall into a kind of distortion making
  the subject seem cold and abstract. If you lean
  too much toward the audience, you can start to
  create propaganda. And if you put to much
  emphasis on your own character and values, you
  will seem egotistical.

Possible Distortion Abstraction
Logos
Subject
Audience
Speaker
Pathos
Ethos
Possible Distortion Propaganda
Possible Distortion Egotism