The Art of Rhetoric

by Aristotle

Other authorsHugh Lawson-Tancred (Editor), Hugh Lawson-Tancred (Translator), Hugh Lawson-Tancred (Introduction)

Paperback, 1992

Status

Available

Call number

808.5

Genres

Collection

Your library

Publication

Penguin Classics (1992), Paperback, 304 pages

Description

For all men are persuaded by considerations of where their interest lies...Aristotle's Art of Rhetoric is the earliest systematic treatment of the subject, and it remains among the most incisive works on rhetoric that we possess. In it, we are asked: What is a good speech? What do popular audiences find persuasive? How does one compose a persuasive speech? Aristotleconsiders these questions in the context of the ancient Greek democratic city-state, in which large audiences of ordinary citizens listened to speeches pro and con before casting the votes that made the laws, decided the policies, and settled the cases in court. Persuasion by means of the spokenword was the vehicle for conducting politics and administering the law. After stating the basic principles of persuasive speech, Aristotle places rhetoric in relation to allied fields such as politics, ethics, psychology, and logic, and he demonstrates how to construct a persuasive case for any kindof plea on any subject of communal concern. Aristotle views persuasion flexibly, examining how speakers should devise arguments, evoke emotions, and demonstrate their own credibility. The treatise provides ample evidence of Aristotle's unique and brilliant manner of thinking, and has had a profoundinfluence on later attempts to understand what makes speech persuasive.The new translation of the text is accompanied by an introduction discussing the political, philosophical, and rhetorical background to Aristotle's treatise, as well as the composition and transmission of the original text and an account of Aristotle's life.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member SamTekoa

This book is a review of the types and ways of speaking. It is somewhat of a difficult read in that it does not flow well. This may be the difficulty in translating something from the Greek that was used originally used by Aristotle as his class notes. There are worthwhile nuggets of insight and

instruction. Maybe a modern day scholar has taken this work and improved upon it. If anyone knows of such a book please let me know.

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LibraryThing member GraceZ

What is this guy trying to say? He seems to have confused even himself, because he's a little contradictory. Okay, okay, so technically I didn't finish this book. I just put it down.

LibraryThing member madepercy

Some of this book reads like a manual for living with what seem to be the simplest instructions imaginable. Wake up, lift the cover, put your feet on the floor, stand up, go to the bathroom, etc. Yet when one thinks about this being some of the earliest writings in recorded history, this

instruction manual in how to be persuasive in speech and in writing states exactly what we teach our university students today. And therein lies the simplicity that belies its brilliance. This is my first cover-to-cover reading of Rhetoric. There are many references to Topics, Poetics, and Politics, and other works on rhetoric by other authors, but the reading of this work has inspired me to embark on a proper reading of the Great Books series, as set out by Hutchins and Adler at the University of Chicago, and I have begun at the beginning with Homer's Iliad. I recall a commentary on Darwin - George Bernard Shaw I think it was - that ran something like "once Darwin had proved, through systematic use of the evidence, that natural selection was a very real phenomenon, he did it over again with even more examples to the point of tedium". But Aristotle was the original. Simply reading this points me to the problem with all of my rejected papers - they are not systematic. I recall the guidance of my old professor: "When it is so simple it sounds too easy, then it is good". I also recall Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "[etc]...has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away". Aristotle points to this and, much like Darwin, points to it again and again so as to remove all doubt. While reading Aristotle is much like my reading of J.S. Mill and Trotsky, as in it feels like I am reading my own knowledge in a book. Not because I am so knowledgeable, but because these authors permeated my education. Now, at least, I can see clearly where that education came from, and I am, strange as it may seem, excited about reading the Great Books I am yet to read.

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LibraryThing member DanielSTJ

An interesting take on rhetoric from the master logician himself. Aristotle's points are complex and multi-layered, and the text is somewhat antiquated, but this is still a landmark document in the history of non-fiction, philosophy, and rhetoric itself.

I recommend it.

LibraryThing member RajivC

This is an excellent book, but not an easy one to read. The translation is excellent, but the lessons are deep.

When I started the book, I was not sure how the early sections pertained to rhetoric. But you must hang in there. As you read, everything starts to come together.

If you are not skilled

in rhetoric, like me, then this book is invaluable. Read it, study it, and then apply it.

It is easy to see why the book has been influential through the ages. This is a testament to Aristotle's wisdom and knowledge.

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