INTRODUCTION TO

RHETORIC
Course Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the module, the students will be able to:

1. Comprehend the background of rhetoric

2. Identify and explain classical rhetoric and its basic concepts
3. Summarize rhetoric and classical rhetoric
Discussion
Rhetoric is the equivalence of Dialectic, which is a method of
examining and discussing opposing ideas in order to find the truth.
Classical writers considered rhetoric as having been "invented," or
more precisely, "discovered," in the fifth century B.C. in the
democracies of Syracuse and Athens. Classical rhetoricians
recognized that many features of their subject could be found in
Greek literature before the "discovery" of rhetoric as an academic
discipline, and they often used rhetorical concepts in literary analysis.
Proof or Apparent Proof
In dialectic, there is induction (the act of providing something as an
evidence or proof to support an argument1) and in rhetoric, there is
enthymeme (a syllogism in which one of the premise is implicit1). An
enthymeme is a rhetorical syllogism, and the example is a rhetorical
induction.
The Enthymeme
There are two kinds of signs base on the enthymeme; (1) Infallible
Signs – it is called the “complete proof”, because its argument is
irrefutable and (2) Fallible Signs – Its argument is causally related and
is refutable.

The Example
Its relation to the proposition it supports is not that of part to whole,
nor whole to part, nor whole to whole, but of part to part, or like to
like. When two statements are of the same order, but one is more
familiar than the other, the former is an ’example’.3
The Topics (Topoi)
There are common topics; Definition (genus, division), Comparison
(similarity, differences and degree), Relationship (cause and effect,
contraries, antecedents and consequences), Circumstances
(possibility, past and future facts), Testimony (laws, authority,
precedents) and there are also special topics that are specific to
each form; deliberative, forensic and ceremonial.1
Five Canons of Classical Rhetoric
I. Invention (inventio)
II. Arrangement (dispositio)
III. Style (elocutio)
IV. Memory (memoria)
V. Delivery (pronuntiatio)
Sources:
Kennedy, George A. A NEW HISTORY OF CLASSICAL RHETORIC. Date Retrieved September 27,
2019 from http://www.sjsu.edu
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Incorporated Version 2.0 (Copyright 2010-2019)
MIT Open Course Ware. (2009). Classical Rhetoric and Political Discourse. Date Retrieved
September 27, 2019 from https://ocw.mit.edu
W. Rhys Roberts. (1994-1998). Rhetoric. Date Retrieved September 27, 2019 from
http://www.bocc.ubi.pt
A Brief Summary of Classical Rhetoric. Date Retrieved September 27, 2019 from
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~rhetoric/summary.doc
Kennedy, George A. A NEW HISTORY OF CLASSICAL RHETORIC. Date Retrieved September 27,
2019 from http://www.sjsu.edu/people/cynthia.rostankowski/courses/HUM1AF14/s3/Lecture-
12-Kennedy-and-Aristotle-Readings.pdf