A+Brief+History+of+Rhetoric+Through+Ancient+Times

The history of rhetoric is something that can’t be nailed down to a specific starting point. Since the beginning of human interaction, we have used speech to try and convince others of our thoughts and values. In ancient Egypt, the art of speaking eloquently was highly regarded. Even the Chinese philosopher and the founder of Confucianism, Confucius (551-479 BC), emphasized this specific art.

However, the idea of studying rhetoric to further ones skills on debate wasn’t fully utilized until the rise of Greek democracy. The Greek city-state of Athens was one of the first effective democracies where every man of age was encouraged to stand in Assembly and persuade others for or against a certain piece of legislation. Rhetorical ability could greatly affect a man’s ability to influence in politics, so much so that schools began to form to teach rhetoric. These teachers, called “Sophists”, would teach young men who were interested in furthering their ability to debate their competitors and sway others in favor of their opinions. Almost immediately, Plato expressed his strong dislike for the Sophists. He claimed that they would do everything to win an argument like prying on emotions and using clever wordplay even if that meant hiding from the truth. Today, the word “sophist” has a negative implication because it refers to someone who will manipulate the truth for money.

Plato’s student, Aristotle, went on to write the book called //The Art of Rhetoric// where he defined rhetoric as “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” Aristotle knew that to persuade audiences to see the truth one could not only rely on the scientific facts or logic in an argument. He also knew that sometimes people would use rhetoric to deceive audiences with wordplay and that one should know how to identify and counteract that. Aristotle derived the three means of rhetorical persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos.

In Ancient Rome, oration became a daily part of life. Cicero was a famous orator during this time and the first notable rhetorician in Rome. He originated the idea of having a liberal education. Cicero believed that if one was skilled enough in subjects like art, politics, philosophy, ethics, history, law and literature, you could appeal to a more wide variety of audiences. The next famous rhetorician of Ancient Rome was Quintilian who opened a public school to teach the ways of using rhetoric in oration. His idea of the “Five Canons of Rhetoric” are still widely taught today and include: invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery.

The use of rhetoric in ancient times strongly influenced how we use rhetoric today. Modern rhetoric still derives much of its knowledge and definition from past civilizations like Greece and Rome. Knowing the history of rhetoric can help you further your understanding in the subject and help you to reason and interpret specific arguments.

(sources: [], [])