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| [Copyright Duncan Hull] |
Recently, some of my
classmates have been posting responses to our
studies of rhetoric, and I wanted to take the chance to explore the topic from a socio-historical point of view. When it comes down to the nitty-gritty of human interaction, rhetoric is simply the techné of influencing other people. Thus, as Aristotle suggests, it represents neither a positive nor a negative force and can be wielded by good and evil men alike. In Gideon Burton's
article, "What is Rhetoric?" the author suggests that language and, by extension, rhetoric, have served as primary facilitators in the growth of nations and the development of human civilization as a whole:
Because there has been implanted in us the power to persuade each other and to make clear to each other whatever we desire, not only have we escaped the life of wild beasts, but we have come together and founded cities and made laws and invented arts. (2)
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[Copyright Traci Gardner]
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