Charlie Palandati

ERH-201WX

MAJ Garriott

5 September 2017

What is Rhetoric?

During the first class, I defined rhetoric as the means to communicate effectively by appealing to logic, emotions and credibility. Also, rhetoric can be oral or written. While this definition touches on some key points, it does not include all the essential elements. In order to develop a more complete definition, I explored The History and Theory of Rhetoric by James Herrick. Herrick presents the ideas of philosopher’s and authors, from the likes of Plato, Aristotle, John Locke, Friedrich Nietzshe, Richard Mckeon and more. For instance, Plato “condemns rhetoric as foul” (Herrick 1). Meanwhile, Mckeon believed “rhetoric is the study of how we organize and employ language effectively” (Herrick 3). At the same time, he offers his own ideas about rhetoric. For example, Herrick states the following: “I will be taking the position that rhetorical discourse is a particular type of communication”, rather than all communication (8).

As discussed in class, and after reading the text, there really is no agreed upon definition of rhetoric. Instead, there are essential elements that are repeated by those who discuss rhetoric. First, it includes all types of communication. In my original definition, I mentioned oral and written; however, this goes far beyond just those two broad categories. Herrick lists examples such as symbols, music, sports, and more to be mediums of rhetoric. Second, rhetoric is effective in persuading people to agree with an argument. Simply put, rhetorical discourse influences people to think, act, or behave in a certain way. Third, rhetoric is tailored to an audience, and considers current or applicable issues. Although Herrick discusses more elements of rhetoric, these are the three that stood out to me as the most agreed upon.

 

Works Cited

Herrick, James A. The History and Theory of Rhetoric. 5th ed., Pearson

Education, Inc., 2013.