Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasion (Wooden Books North America Editions)

About the Author\nAdina Arvatu is a specialist in philosophy and comparative literature, living in Melbourne, Australia.\nAndrew Aberdein is Professor of Philosophy at the School of Arts and Communication, Florida Institute of Technology.\nWhat do you do when you use a metaphor? Or a simile or analogy? Can you tell the difference between a synecdoche and a metonymy? What are the secret tricks used every day by professional persuaders? In this learned little volume, illustrated by Merrily Harpur, rhetoricians Adina Arvatu and Andrew Aberdein demonstrate the principles of Rhetoric via its key figures and devices, using copious examples to show how all human communication deploys the time-tested techniques of this elegant and ancient art.
"Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.\nExcerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.\nRHETORIC is the enfant terrible of the Trivium family. Like grammar and logic, it has an ancient pedigree; unlike them, it boasts a rather chequered reputation. At times the infamy even outstrips its ancestry. You cannot, for instance, dismiss someone's speech as 'grammatical' or 'logical,' but let it pack a wallop, and the cry of 'rhetoric!' deafens all. And that is because, from its inception millennia ago, the art of persuasion has been in tension with the truth. And philosophy. For what is to stop a good rhetorician from bending the truth to suit her case? Should rhetoric not make liars and bull-mongers of us all?
The most levelheaded answer ever given to that question remains Aristotle's. Betweenhardtruthandbold-facedlie,hesawawholedomain― known in his day as the polis―where things were at best probable. We call it the public sphere, and it is where things need to get done and minds to be made up, where we argue about the right course of action, the most accurate account of events, or the good, the bad, and the uglies in charge of our political fates. If probabilities and values are the main currency in this sphere, then rhetoric and argumentation are its most efficacious tools.
That is why, for centuries, rhetoric was a staple of education in Europe and beyond. It had very useful skills to teach, which helped invent modern English (Shakespeare), steel a country against a terrible enemy (Churchill), move multitudes (Martin Luther King Jr.), or simply communicate effectively. So if you ever wondered about the subtle power that wins over hearts and minds, this little book is for you. And if you never did, it will get you started. For nothing may corrupt like power, but who wants to be powerless in the public sphere?