CHAPTER 22
THE RHETORIC OF ARISTOTLE
Outline
I. Introduction.
A. Aristotle was a student of Plato’s who disagreed with his mentor over the place of
public speaking in Athenian life.
B. Plato’s negative view of public speaking was based on his assessment of the
Sophists.
C. Aristotle, like Plato, deplored the demagoguery of speakers using their skill to move
an audience while showing a casual indifference to the truth.
D. Aristotle saw rhetoric as a neutral tool with which one could accomplish either noble
ends or further fraud.
2. Nonetheless, unscrupulous persuaders may fool an audience unless an ethical
speaker uses all possible means of persuasion to counter the error.
4. Success requires wisdom and eloquence.
E. Although Aristotle’s Politics and Ethics are polished, well-organized texts, the
Rhetoric is a collection of lecture notes.
F. Aristotle raised rhetoric to a science by systematically exploring the effects of the
speaker, the speech, and the audience.
II. Rhetoric: Making persuasion probable.
A. Aristotle saw the function of rhetoric as the discovery in each case of “the available
means of persuasion.”
B. In terms of speech situations, he focused on civic affairs.
1. Courtroom (forensic) speaking renders just decisions considering actions of the
past.
3. Political (deliberative) speaking attempts to influence those who consider future
policy.
C. Aristotle classified rhetoric as the counterpart of dialectic.
1. Dialectic is one-on-one conversation; rhetoric is one person addressing the
many.
3. Dialectic answers general philosophical questions; rhetoric addresses specific,
practical ones.
4. Dialectic deals with certainty; rhetoric considers probability.
III. Rhetorical proof: Logos, ethos, and pathos.
A. Persuasion can be artistic or inartistic.
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prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
1. Inartistic or external proofs are those that the speaker does not create.
2. Artistic or internal proofs are those that the speaker creates.
B. The available means of persuasion are based on three kinds of proof.
2. Emotional proof (pathos) is the feeling the speech draws out of the hearers.
3. Source credibility (ethos) is the way the speaker’s character is revealed through
the message.
C. Case study: Barack Obama’s commencement address at Notre Dame
1. A few months into his first term of office, President Obama accepted an invitation
2. Based on Obama’s approval of abortion and stem-cell research, the
4. This was a deliberative speech—not about any specific government policy, but
5. The three types of proof Aristotle discussed demonstrate how President Obama
might speak in a way that makes reaching his goal possible, maybe even
probable, but never with absolute certainty.
D. Logos: Quasi-logical arguments that make sense.
1. Aristotle focused on two forms of logical proof—enthymeme and example.
2. Enthymeme is the strongest of the proofs.
a. An enthymeme is an incomplete version of a formal deductive syllogism.
3. The example uses inductive reasoning—drawing a final conclusion from specific
examples.
a. If an illustration strikes a responsive chord in the listener, the truth it
suggests seems evident.
b. Aristotle said that both forms of logos are persuasive, but examples are
E. Pathos: Emotional appeals that strike a responsive chord.
2. Yet he understood that public rhetoric, if practiced ethically, benefits society.
3. Aristotle catalogued a series of opposite feelings, explained the conditions under
which each mood is experienced, and then described how the speaker can get an
4. Aristotle scholar and translator George Kennedy claims that this analysis of
pathos is “the earliest systematic discussion of human psychology.”
F. Ethos: Perceived source credibility
2. Aristotle was primarily interested in how the speaker’s ethos is created in a
speech.
3. In the Rhetoric, he identified three qualities that build high source credibility—
intelligence, character, and goodwill.
a. The assessment of intelligence is based more on practical wisdom and
shared values than training or education.
b. Virtuous character has to do with the speaker’s image as a good and
IV. The five canons of rhetoric.
A. Invention—in order to generate effective enthymemes and examples, speakers draw
upon both specialized knowledge about the subject and general lines of reasoning
common to all kinds of speeches.
2. As Cornell University literature professor Lane Cooper explained, “In these
special regions the orator hunts for arguments as a hunter hunts for game.”
B. Arrangement—Aristotle recommended a basic structure.
1. He wrote that “there are two parts to a speech; for it is necessary first to state
the subject and then to demonstrate it.”
2. First the thesis, then the proof.
C. Style—Aristotle emphasized the pedagogical effectiveness of metaphor.
1. But for Aristotle, metaphors were more than aids for comprehension or aesthetic
appreciation.
D. Delivery—naturalness is persuasive.
2. Any form of presentation that calls attention to itself takes away from the
speaker’s proofs.
E. Memory—this component was emphasized by Roman teachers.
1. In our present age of instant information on the Internet and teleprompters that
2. Perhaps for us, the modern equivalent of memory is rehearsal.
V. Ethical reflection: Aristotle’s golden mean.
A. He took the Greek admiration for moderation and elevated it to a theory of virtue.
B. Aristotle assumed virtue stands between two vices.
C. Moderation is best; virtue develops habits that seek to walk an intermediate path.
VI. Critique: A theory that stands the test of time.
A. Aristotle’s Rhetoric can be classified as both an objective and interpretive theory.
1. As a good objective theory, Aristotle’s rhetoric predicts future audience
responses, explains why they will respond this way, and has practical utility.
B. Nonetheless, clarity is often a problem with Aristotle’s theory that affects its relative
simplicity and aesthetic appeal.
Key Names and Terms
Aristotle
A Student of Plato, ancient Greek teacher and scholar whose Rhetoric represents the
first systematic study of public speaking and audience analysis.
Rhetoric
Discovering in each case all possible means of persuasion
Enthymeme
An incomplete version of a formal deductive syllogism that is created by leaving out a
premise that is already accepted by the audience or by leaving an obvious conclusion
unstated; a reasonable argument.
Lloyd Bitzer
Late rhetorician from the University of Wisconsin who argued that the audience helps
construct an enthymematic proof by supplying the missing premise.
Pathos
Proofs consisting of feelings and emotions elicited by the speech.
Ethos
Invention
The speaker’s “hunt” for arguments that will be effective in a particular speech.
Golden mean
The virtue of moderation; the virtuous person develops habits that avoids extremes.
Principal Changes
The chapter offers increased clarity of the nature and role of logos, pathos, and ethos.
Although the description of Aristotle’s rhetoric remains consistent, the chapter is restructured
around a new example. Replacing Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the
Kick-off Questions & Interaction Starters
• How do you win over an unfavorable crowd?
• Are you ever convinced by an entirely rational or emotional appeal? Or does it
always have to be blended?
Suggestions for Discussion
This chapter is crucial to students’ understanding of public discourse, and to employ
Karl Weick’s concept of “retrospective sensemaking,” Aristotle’s Rhetoric may shed additional
theories of persuasion). All three of those theories downplay the identity of the persuader, at
best rendering it as a peripheral cue (ELM) or arguably, in the cases of SJT and CDT, saying
very little about it at all. In contrast, Aristotle’s theorizing of ethos demands close consideration
speaker’s oration. Nonetheless, he integrates knowledge of logic, psychology, politics, law,
literature, and (arguably) ethics to create his theory of persuasive communication. Who else—
in his era or any other—can say the same?
Aristotle’s style
Because of space considerations, the authors’ discussion of style is limited to the
explication of metaphor. Nonetheless, Aristotle’s advice on other stylistic matters is
noteworthy. In general, Aristotle recommends clarity achieved through a middle style: “Let the
virtue of style be defined as ‘to be clear’ . . . neither flat nor above the dignity of the subject,
Ethos, pathos, and Hallmark movies
For upper-level undergraduate students, this chapter on Aristotle may be a refresher
that draws on material studied in public speaking, analysis of argument, or rhetorical criticism
classes. For students less schooled in the rhetorical tradition, you may need to spend some
time clarifying ethos and pathos as well as debunking some popularly held beliefs. One
common misconception is that ethos simply implies an ethical communicator. In Aristotelian
parlance, being ethical or virtuous is only one component of a speaker’s ethos, which spans to
include perceptions of intelligence and charity towards the audience. Another point to discuss
is that Aristotle’s discussion of ethos does not fully account for the power of speakers who rely
on shock, charisma, or dynamism. I return to this point in the “Exercises and Activities”
section of the next chapter, but it may be useful to discuss this issue with students when
considering Aristotle. Have them supply examples of speakers whose ethe (plural for ethos)
are powerful, yet non-Aristotelian (various politicians, preachers, military figures, and so forth).
For Aristotle, responsible pathos did not include strategies such as pulling at an
audience’s heartstrings with tear-jerking monologues or inciting fear through menacing
Aristotle as anti-democratic
It may be worth discussing the implications of Aristotle’s ambivalence about pathos,
which suggests his concerns about the emotions of the crowd, the demos. The potential bad
news here is that our great Greek predecessor may have been less democratically inclined
than we’ve liked to imagine him. His advice about deliberation may have been aimed more at
the ancient equivalent of the boardroom, legislature, or advisory council than the mass of rank-
and-file voters. In any case, he was certainly most interested in the speech of free men,
entirely to the exclusion of slaves, women, or anyone on the margins of society. Not unlike his
following Aristotle’s advice about pathos, what’s going on: was his theory ill-informed,
misstated, or undemocratic, or was he right to be wary of emotion and we’re ignoring his good
counsel? Could both be true?
Rhetoric’s first webmaster
One historian of ancient rhetoric has suggested that a good way to conceptualize
Aristotle’s Rhetoric is as the first rhetoric website—an elaborate, eclectic site designed to
describe public discourse with hundreds of links to other works written by Aristotle, other
treatises on rhetoric, contemporary oratory, drama, poetry, and other subjects. By logging on
to the Rhetoric, a student of rhetoric becomes connected to a multitude of cultural artifacts
related to the art of oratory in ancient Greece. In this sense, Aristotle can be seen not only as
a great thinker, but as rhetoric’s first webmaster. In presenting that framing to students, you
might open a discussion about the relative importance of a streamlined theory. In my classes, I
The enthymeme
You’ll note that the chapter’s treatment of the enthymeme characterizes the ancient
form as reason-based, “an incomplete version of a formal deductive syllogism”. On the other
hand, work by Jeffrey Walker and others suggests that the enthymeme was in the eyes of the
reason/emotion split central to Western culture and our ways of conceptualizing rhetoric is
often overemphasized. This point was also raised in the earlier discussion of ELM.
A point worth addressing with students is the value of an explicit or implicit persuasive
appeal. While classic texts like Aristotle come down on the side of the soft-sell and advocate
the power of audience-involved enthymeme, more recent works of persuasion suggest more of
Where interpersonal meets rhetoric
In many communication programs, students may be tracked into areas of
specialization. This is the case at my school, where concentration areas divide interpersonal
from rhetorical studies. Reviewing discussion of the traditions in our discipline outlined in
Chapter 4, it is not difficult to see where such tracks came from and how different heritages
have contributed to the field. Students can get compartmentalized in the major with little
overlap, especially as it relates to theories that guide communication scholars. It seems
unfortunate that a typical student may fail to experience key areas of our discipline in their
Sample Application Log
Jill
In my Fundamentals of Oral Communication class we were taught these exact methods in
giving speeches. To fully relate this to Aristotle’s tactics, I will tell of my persuasion speech. I
gave a speech on eating disorders and how the media encourage eating disorders in women.
In my invention or construction of my argument, I showed how statistics of eating disorders
have risen from the past to now. I also showed examples of advertisements with skinny
models which the women of our day expect themselves to look like. With these examples, I
failed to show a contrast of advertisements of the past or possible advertisements of the
future. I did show that through using perfect bodies in advertisements, we have glorified this
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prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
speech, which may have been at odds with Aristotle’s encouragement of memory. It’s amazing
that Aristotle’s speech techniques are still being taught in classrooms today.
Exercises and Activities
Aristotle: Just the basics
Clearly, given the chapter length that typifies A First Look, the authors are only hitting
the highlights of Aristotle’s views that have formed the backbone of our discipline. It might be
helpful to clearly discuss this limitation with students. If they (and you) are familiar with
Apple’s iTunes, you might draw a comparison to iTunes Essentials. For a highly prolific or
influential artist (say, the rock band U2 or jazz artist John Coltrane), a search for all the
available music might seem daunting, especially as a beginner. What are the most important
songs? What do I need to listen to in order to understand the artist? iTunes has already done
the work by creating a 4-layer essentials list. The first level, “the basics,” as the name
suggests, lists those works judged to be the most foundational or influential; these are the
department, like mine, offers a companion course in rhetorical theory, I’d suggest it as a
complete set. Our point is this: Aristotle’s influence is deep and wide within the field. We’re
just sticking a very small toe into a very deep part of the river that is our discipline. We think
it’s better to acknowledge what a small section of the vast area we’re addressing rather than
let students believe they have “gotten it” when they get the material here. It’s important, but
only a first step.
Beyond Obama
In the chapter, the address by Obama serves well to condense this theory, but I
recommend vivifying the account with additional examples, thus demonstrating the enduring
value of Aristotelian concepts. A vivid example is Nixon’s “Checkers Speech,” one of the most
successful political orations of the twentieth century. Nixon, then a candidate for the vice
presidency, marshals explicit appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos as he defends his reputation
and blasts the Democratic ticket. As for many others, the memorable part for me is Nixon’s
refusal to return one gift—the dog Checkers, though his discussion of his checkbook balance is
discussion serve the dual purposes of examining Aristotle’s rhetoric and presenting vital pieces
of history. Other speeches that work well (along with their ranking are):
• John F. Kennedy: “Inaugural address” Delivered January 20, 1961 (2)
• Barbara Jordan: “Who then will speak for the common good?” 1976 Democratic
(95)
A favorite of Andrew’s when he teaches this chapter is Ronald Reagan’s address to the
nation after the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (8). At 4.5 minutes, the speech is
brief enough to be shown in class with time for discussion afterward. Andrew divides the class
into thirds, with one third focusing on the speech’s logos, the other on pathos, and the other
on ethos. All are identifiable in the speech; Reagan’s pathos is one of solemn mourning mixed
with courage, he establishes his ethos by communicating concern to all those who had been
The rhetoric of military leaders
Some of the most famous examples of public rhetoric have been produced by military
leaders preparing troops for battle. These speeches—both real and fictitious—usually
demonstrate the great motivating power of pathos. Scenes from movies like Patton, Gladiator,
The rhetoric of Obama
During his campaigns and throughout his eight years as President, Obama was
acclaimed as a rhetor and speech-maker par excellence. Though you (and/or your students)
may disagree with his politics, I’d encourage you to examine some of his other public
addresses as they make good examples of the Aristotelian principles examined in this chapter.
His address in January 2011 in memory of the people killed in a Tucson supermarket are
that’s okay if you’re the President of the United States, but I don’t recommend it to my public
speaking students.
Aristotelian rhetoric is all around, even in country music
In addition to supplying further examples of speeches for analysis, you can encourage
or require your students to bring their own. Challenge them to find elements of Aristotelian
rhetoric in a wide variety of genres of discourse, from rock lyrics, to poetry, to art. Students are
particularly pleased when they rediscover popular culture through an Aristotelian lens. Where
can they locate appeals based on logic/reasoning, emotion, or strength of the speaker? When
is a speaker’s presentation or delivery a factor such that it distracts from the contents? What
does it sound like when an appeal is well-prepared and argued? I highly encourage students
pieces by the likes of Luke Bryan (“Drink a Beer”), Tim McGraw (“Live Like You Were Dying”),
Taylor Swift (“Speak Now”), or Carrie Underwood (“Before He Cheats”) more accessible to your
students.
Further Resources
Three general resources on Aristotle’s rhetoric and its context are:
George A. Kennedy, The Art of Persuasion in Ancient Greece, Princeton University Press,
1963, pp. 82–114.
Thomas M. Conley, Rhetoric in the European Tradition, University of Chicago Press,
1990, pp. 13–17.
Theoretical concerns
Jennifer Reilly Bluma, “Weaving Ropes with the Desert Fathers: (Re)Inventing Rhetorical Theory
as Silence and Listening,” International Journal Of Listening, Vol. 30, 2016, pp. 134–
150.
Ronald F. Duska, “Why Business Ethics Needs Rhetoric: An Aristotelian Perspective. Business
Ethics Quarterly,” Vol. 24, 2014, pp. 119-134.
Frans H. van Eemeren, “In What Sense Do Modern Argumentation Theories Relate to Aristotle?
The Case of Pragma-Dialectics,” Argumentation, Vol. 27, 2013, pp. 49-70.
Copyright © 2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the
prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Allison M. Prasch, “Toward a Rhetorical Theory of Deixis,” Quarterly Journal of Speech, Vol.
102, 2016, pp. 166-193. (Note: This article was the 2017 recipient of NCA’s Golden
Monograph Award. For advanced students who are eager to dig into the cutting edge of
rhetorical scholarship, it’s a great choice for advanced reading.)
Lynda Walsh, Nathaniel A. Rivers, Jenny Rice, Laurie E. Gries, Jennifer L. Bay, Thomas Rickert,
and Carolyn R. Miller, “Forum: Bruno Latour on Rhetoric,” Rhetoric Society
Quarterly, Vol. 47, 2017, pp. 403-462; see especially “The Appeal(s) of Latour,” pp.
454-459.
Applied Contexts
141-172. New York, NY, US: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Sofia Kaliarnta, “Using Aristotle’s Theory of Friendship to Classify Online Friendships: A Critical
Counterview,” Ethics and Information Technology, Vol. 18, 2016, pp. 65–79.
Nida Aslam Khan and Jami Moiz, “The Discourse: Doing it Differently- the Oreo Princess
Campaign,” IBA Business Review, Vol. 11, 2016, pp. 85–93.
Paul A. Lucas, “The Rhetoric of Brands: How Value is Generated Without
Enthymeme
James Fredal, “Enthymemes in the Orators,” Advances in The History Of Rhetoric, Vol. 19,
2016, pp. 31-49.
Other teaching ideas
Nick J. Sciullo, “Using Hip-Hop Music and Music Videos to Teach Aristotle’s Three
Proofs,” Communication Teacher, Vol. 28, 2014, pp. 165-169.