Rhetoric - The Art of Speech

Originating as a civic art in Ancient Greece, rhetoric first took shape with the pre-Socratic Sophists around 600 BCE, who taught techniques of persuasive speech, particularly valuable in legal disputes and public decision-making. Key figures like Demosthenes, Lysias, Isocrates, and Gorgias were influential orators and teachers, establishing a foundation that continues to inform the study of classical rhetoric today. This tradition of rhetoric endured through the Middle Ages, where it became one of the three pillars of the trivium in university curricula alongside logic and grammar. However, as republican oratory waned with the rise of imperial authority in Rome, rhetoric moved from the civic and political sphere into courtly and ecclesiastical contexts. Christian thinkers like Augustine reshaped rhetorical education during the Middle Ages, advocating for its use in leading audiences toward truth, particularly within the church. Augustine saw rhetoric as a way to guide the faithful and believed that exposure to eloquent language through reading and listening was more beneficial than rote study of rhetorical rules. Consequently, poetry and letter writing became central to rhetorical training, serving as primary forms of expression in a period when political oratory had diminished. With fewer opportunities for public speech, rhetoric found a new purpose in poetry, while letter writing became essential for conducting both state and church affairs. In the 16th century, rhetorical study experienced significant transformation, especially in France, where the distinction between style and substance became pronounced. Scholars like Peter Ramus argued that rhetorical invention and arrangement belonged to the realm of philosophy, relegating rhetoric to a focus on language’s ornamental aspects.

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Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
11:47 - 5 canons of rhetoric
15:24 - early history
17:57 - Ancient Greece
31:25 - India
33:41 - Ancient Rome (Cicero & Quintilian)
53:43 - Medieval to Englightenment
1:02:29 - Belletristic rhetoric (Belles Letters)
1:07:54 - modern rhetoric
1:13:03 - rhetorical critisism & analysis
1:22:09 - animal rhetoric
1:24:47 - cultural rhetorics (outro)

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#rhetoric #history #speech