pagina 1
lecture 1 - introduction
1. importance
• no politics without persuasion
‣ uncertainty about the best means to an ends and about the goal
• big di erence between persuasion by speech and persuasion by force
‣ persuasion is a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince
other people to change their own attitudes or behaviours regarding an issue
through the transmission of a message in an atmosphere of free choice
- democracy is distinguished as a form of governance by the extent of
persuasion relative to coercion
2. what is rhetoric?
• studying rhetoric is learning the practical skill of persuasion, and studying the
persuasiveness of speech
• not limited to spoken word
‣ written word and visuals
a. what is political rhetoric?
• persuasion in the political realm
‣ not limited to politicians
i. diverse research eld
• di erent backgrounds, di erent questions
‣ each with their own terminology and research methods
b. a contested notion
• words often associated with rhetoric are mere and empty
‣ rhetoric is contrasted with reality
• association with danger
‣ can people be persuaded of anything?
- violence, misinformation
• at the same time: no democracy without free speech / rhetoric
3. history
a. greece - 500 BC
• from aristocracy to democracy
‣ assembly in which citizens decide together
- highly participatory system
• status of being citizen comes with obligations
‣ expected from every citizen that they speak well
- rhetorical skills were important
• teachers: sophists
• culture of oral transmission
ff ff fi ff
, pagina 2
i. plato
• rhetoric is empty and dangerous
‣ can do bad instead of good (death of his mentor socrates decided in
assembly)
- it can persuade most people of anything: a rudderless boat
- sophistries = long arguments that trick someone into believing something
wrong
• belief in one moral truth
‣ allegory of the cave
- only a small elite can see it
• the republic
‣ society should be based on reason
‣ strict division: philosopher - kings, guardians and traders
• ideas were later criticised
‣ popper: argument for alternative type of rhetoric
- dialectic = be persuaded by each other to come to the best solution
together
ii. aristotle
• more positive reading of rhetoric
‣ rhetoric complements philosophical reasoning
- man is a political animal
good life is in accordance with community
• how should the best case be put, given the argument, evidence, audience?
‣ best case is not always clear
• the art of rhetoric
• disclaimer: exclusive notion of citizen
‣ importance of enthymeme
- cut certain steps of the arguments
assume that audience shares ideas
‣ degree of permitted disagreement is limited
iii. cicero
• treatises on rhetoric
• refuted sophism
‣ understanding of topic comes rst; then follows good speech
- truth that comes rst
‣ was pragmatic
• persuasion is not about techniques but about the talent to adapt
‣ adapt to topic audience and speaker
fi fi
, pagina 3
b. emergence of modern state
• centralised, powerful authorities
‣ laws to be obeyed without discussion
- monopoly of violence
subordination of citizen assemblies to rules
i. hobbes - leviathan
• pessimist about nature of human beings: uncertainty & competition driven by
passion/appetite
‣ capable of reasoning (not like animals)
- but di erent interpretations of the same event
no shared morality
• rhetoric leads to even more confusion
‣ e.g. metaphors
• rational thing to do: one-time “social contract”
‣ appoint supreme power to bring civil piece
- state needs to draft lines on what citizens can do
ii. rousseau - social contract
• humans are naturally good
‣ modern society made them sel sh
• return to harmony through agreement among citizens
‣ state is not a distant leviathan
- no external authority
‣ collective citizen body remains in charge
• obey the general will (internal motivation)
‣ not developed through rhetoric
- long debates bespeak the assendance of particular interests and the
decline of the state
‣ persuasion is essentially non-argumentative
- appeals to individual’s conscience
• need for unanimity: small & highly exclusive state
‣ people identify with each other
- shared sentiment from within
ff fi
, pagina 4
4. politics versus political
• argument of james martin
• politics = regular activities taking place within the rules of the game
• the political = higher principles (what are the rules of the game?)
‣ only partially settled
- realisation that things might be done di erently
- power relations can always change
• potential for chaos, disorder, crisis
‣ dismissal of rhetoric is a symptom of that concern
- rhetoric involves both politics & the political
just rhetoric: mundane day-to-day-business
speeches that changed the world: e orts to establish new principles
• if thinker has sympathy for rhetoric, there are often limits (e.g. very exclusive
public sphere) to eliminate discussion about the political
5. situating rhetoric
a. language
• not all rhetoric is language
• not all language is rhetoric
b. ideology
• organised belief system (e.g. liberalism, communism)
‣ but rhetoric is about assembly / construction of ideas (and delivery)
• ideology is a resource for rhetoric
‣ rhetoric can change (or create) ideologies
c. discourse
• how people make meaning of things
‣ deals with persuasion and power (cf. critical discourse analysis)
• discourse is broad and ongoing
‣ rhetoric concentrates on situated encounters
ff ff
Les avantages d'acheter des résumés chez Stuvia:
Qualité garantie par les avis des clients
Les clients de Stuvia ont évalués plus de 700 000 résumés. C'est comme ça que vous savez que vous achetez les meilleurs documents.
L’achat facile et rapide
Vous pouvez payer rapidement avec iDeal, carte de crédit ou Stuvia-crédit pour les résumés. Il n'y a pas d'adhésion nécessaire.
Focus sur l’essentiel
Vos camarades écrivent eux-mêmes les notes d’étude, c’est pourquoi les documents sont toujours fiables et à jour. Cela garantit que vous arrivez rapidement au coeur du matériel.
Foire aux questions
Qu'est-ce que j'obtiens en achetant ce document ?
Vous obtenez un PDF, disponible immédiatement après votre achat. Le document acheté est accessible à tout moment, n'importe où et indéfiniment via votre profil.
Garantie de remboursement : comment ça marche ?
Notre garantie de satisfaction garantit que vous trouverez toujours un document d'étude qui vous convient. Vous remplissez un formulaire et notre équipe du service client s'occupe du reste.
Auprès de qui est-ce que j'achète ce résumé ?
Stuvia est une place de marché. Alors, vous n'achetez donc pas ce document chez nous, mais auprès du vendeur ellenrosk. Stuvia facilite les paiements au vendeur.
Est-ce que j'aurai un abonnement?
Non, vous n'achetez ce résumé que pour €6,49. Vous n'êtes lié à rien après votre achat.
