Module 3: Classical Rhetoric vs. Modern Rhetoric PDF

Purposive Communication 2/Review on Rhetorics Classical Rhetoric vs. Modern Rhetoric MODULE 3: Classical Rhetoric vs. Modern Rhetoric Course Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module, the students will be able to: 1. Review the classical rhetoric from the previous module 2. Comprehen...

Purposive Communication 2/Review on Rhetorics Classical Rhetoric vs. Modern Rhetoric MODULE 3: Classical Rhetoric vs. Modern Rhetoric Course Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module, the students will be able to: 1. Review the classical rhetoric from the previous module 2. Comprehend the discussions of modern rhetoric 3. Discern the difference between the classical rhetoric to modern rhetoric 4. Give conclusion from the arguments presented from the module Introduction The tentative emergence of a modern or a new rhetoric has been characterized both by the attempts to recover and re-examine the concepts or classical rhetoric and to define itself against the classical tradition. The years since 1959 have witnessed numerous attempts to define modern rhetoric more fully, attempts that consistently have rested on distinctions drawn between classical rhetoric and a new system. Focusing primarily on distinction between the “old” and the “new” rhetoric has led to unfortunate oversimplifications and distortions. Consequently, its purpose is to survey the distinction typically between traditional and modern rhetoric, to suggest why these distinctions are inaccurate and, most importantly, to note the compelling similarities between traditional and modern rhetoric. These similarities can help clarify the features essentials to any dynamic theory of rhetoric. Purposive Communication 2/Review on Rhetorics Classical Rhetoric vs. Modern Rhetoric Major Distinction Typically Drawn Between Classical and Modern Rhetoric Classical Rhetoric  Man is a rational animal living in a society marked by social cohesion and agreed upon values.  Emphasis is on logical proofs  Rhetor-audience relationship is antagonistic, characterized by manipulative, one- way communication.  Goal is persuasion. Modern Rhetoric  Man is symbol-using animal living in a fragment society.  Emphasis is on emotional proofs  Rhetor-audience relationship is cooperative, characterized by empathetic, two- way communication.  Goal is communication. Similarities and Qualifying Distinctions Between Classical and Modern Rhetoric 1) Both classical and modern rhetoric view man as a language-using animal who unites reason and emotion in discourse with another. Qualifying Distinction Aristole addresses himself primarily to the oral use of language; ours is primarily an age of print. Purposive Communication 2/Review on Rhetorics Classical Rhetoric vs. Modern Rhetoric 2) In both periods rhetoric provides a dynamic methodology whereby rhetor and audience may jointly have access to knowledge. Qualifying Distinction According to Aristotle, rhetor and audience come into a state of knowing which places them in a clearly defined relationship with the world and with each other mediated by their language. The prevailing modernist world view compels rhetoric to operate without any such clearly articulated theory of the knower and the known. 3) In both period rhetoric has the potential to clarify and inform activities in numerous related fields. Qualifying Distinction Aristotle’s theory establishes rhetoric as an art and relates it clearly to all fields of knowledge. Despite the efforts of modern rhetoricians, we lack any systematic, generally accepted theory to inform current practice. Conclusion The distinctions concerns not the notion of man, the nature of proof, the speaker- audience relationship, nor the goal of rhetoric, instead, this distinction concerns the nature and status of knowledge. For Aristotle, knowledge may be either of the necessary or the conditional. In addition, Aristotle’s Rhetoric provided a theory that was intimately related to practice. For the Greeks, and indeed for the Romans who followed them, rhetoric was a practical art of discourse which played a central role in education and in the daily affairs of citizens. Both rhetoric views Aristotle’s work which established a theoretical relationship among belief, language, and action that serve as a way of knowing and a guide to action throughout a person’s life. Purposive Communication 2/Review on Rhetorics Classical Rhetoric vs. Modern Rhetoric Source: Ede, Lisa; Lunsford, Andrea. (1982). On Distinction Between Classical and Modern Rhetoric. Date Retrieved September 27, 2019 from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED220866.pdf