Channels, Fall 2016

Towne • Æsop’s Trumpeter, Aristotle’s Orator, and the Technical Communicator Page 86 Analyzing Aristotle’s Rhetoric Aristotle posits a complex though perhaps vague definition of rhetoric. He defines rhetoric as “the faculty of discovering all the available means of persuasion in any given situation” (Kennedy 1991, 1). He writes that rhetoric not only determines how one might persuade an audience but also perpetuates reasonable discussion (Grimaldi 1980). Miller (1989) notes that rhetoric is a techne situated between art and science. According to Aristotle, rhetoric concerns itself with contingent human affairs, a realm where universal truth is not always apparent (Corbett and Connors 1999). Aristotle notes that orators pursue truth and justice and intend to persuade their audiences to some kind of action. Because Aristotle suggests that the ultimate goal of rhetoric is to advance truth and justice, he gives the orator and the audience equal ethical responsibility as they discuss topics that lead to social action. For Aristotle, orators are responsible for what and how they communicate while audiences are responsible for how they respond to what orators have posited. Moreover, he says that since rhetoric persuades, it is a fundamental element of political discourse (Auerback 2015; Duska 2014). The Orator’s Responsibility According to Aristotle, as orators persuade their audiences, they lead them to act in some way. Although Plato suggests that orators produce virtue in the souls of their listeners, Aristotle proposes that as orators persuade, they should help their listeners evaluate and respond to rhetoric. Rorty (1996) suggests the orator must center rhetoric on prudence and justice and consider how the audiences will respond. As they consider how their audiences will react, orators must display what Aristotle considers practical wisdom. They must know when it is appropriate to use logos , pathos , and ethos as they persuade (Miller 1989). Aristotle notes that orators must use appropriate rhetoric to serve citizens as they deliberate for the good of the polis. Orators must present their topics with excellence and with balance. When Aristotle defines rhetoric and describes how it functions in public deliberation, he seems to consider it an amoral tool (Hunt 1961; Randall 1960; Rowland and Womack 1985); however, he does not actually separate rhetoric from ethics. Aristotle suggests that orators argue both sides of an issue so that the audience can determine how to proceed with virtue. Moreover, he notes that orators cannot use rhetoric to manipulate others (Duska 2014; Johnstone 1980; Kallendorf and Kallendorf 1989; Katz 1999; Sullivan 2004). Since Aristotle warns that orators might use rhetoric to accomplish a negative end, he implicitly asserts that language creates both negative and positive meaning. Because Aristotle does not evaluate rhetoric apart from its context, he ultimately does not believe it is ethically neutral. He does not evaluate how orators find answers apart from how they articulate them (Kallendorf and Kallendorf 1989). Thus, in Aristotle’s rhetorical paradigm, the orator is responsible to see all available means of persuasion and to use appropriate rhetoric so that the audience can respond with virtuous action.