USE ARISTOTLE RHETORIC TO IMPROVE YOUR CONVINCING POWER

Rhetoric is the art of speaking or writing effectively. This article tries to answer the question - how you can use Aristotle’s technique to better your persuasive power?

What is it?

Aristotle believed that rhetoric must be employed in persuasion, as it made the rhetorician see clearly what facts are, and that, if another person argued unfairly, the rhetorician may be able to refute the wrong facts. In his text; which was never meant for publication, he argued: what a successful rhetoric entails? For what purpose rhetoric should be used? And, what an effective rhetorician does?

Where it originated?

Rhetoric is generally thought to have originated in Greece at the beginning of the fifth century B.C. Its first use appeared to have been in the law courts. Isocrates, 436-338 B.C., was the first to develop a systemic theory of rhetoric. The Sophists such as Protagoras, 486 B.C, and Gorgias, 483-374 B.C, took up rhetoric and charged fee for preparing speeches for others and for teaching others to argue either side of the case. It was against the Sophists that Socrates argued and against them that Plato established the distinction between opinion; doxa and knowledge; episteme. And it was Plato’s; Aristotle was his student, negative view of public speaking in Athenian life that Aristotle disagreed against.

What did Aristotle believe?

Aristotle was born in Stagira, in the Chalcidice, 384-322 B.C. He was son of a physician in the service of the Macedonian court. He saw rhetoric as a neutral tool with which one can accomplish, either noble or deceitful ends, because he believed that – truth is inherently more acceptable than false, nevertheless, dishonest persuaders may fool an audience unless an ethical speaker uses all possible means of persuasion to counter the error, and speaker have only themselves to blame for failure. As for Aristotle, rhetoric was the discovery in each case of the available means of persuasion.

Aristotle speech on civic affairs

Aristotle in terms of speech situation focused on: civic affairs pertaining forensic speaking which considers guilt or innocence, deliberative speaking which considers future policy, and epideictic speaking which considers praise and blame. Furthermore, he classified rhetoric as the counter part of dialectic, where the differentiated between the two in the following ways. Dialectic is one on one conversation, while rhetoric is one person addressing the many. Dialectic searches for truth, while rhetoric demonstrates existing truth. And, dialectic deals with certainty, while rhetoric considers probability.

Mode of persuasion

According to Aristotle, there are three kinds of the mode of persuasion governed by rhetoric–the character of speaker, the opinion of audience and the persuasive argument as proof. In character of speaker, authority is measure of other people’s confidence, and ways of establishing confidence is through use of medium, knowledge of subject and verification of source. In opinion of audience, all audience are in the position of judge, because it is the audience that determines the argument’s end. And finally, in persuasive argument as proof, persuasion is effected through the speech itself when the truth or the apparent truth is proved by means of persuasive argument suitable to the case in question.

Means of persuasion based on proofs

Aristotle believed that the available means of persuasion are based on three kinds of proofs – logos, pathos and ethos. Logos appeals to reason, the logical proof or appeals used to support a claim, induction and deduction, can also be the facts and statistics, used to help support the argument. Pathos appeals to the emotions. The emotional proof or motivation appeal are done through - vivid language, emotional language and numerous sensory details. Ethos appeals to the character. The speakers or writer’s credibility and authority are based on intelligence, character and goodwill. Considered together these appeals form what later rhetoricians have called the rhetorical triangle. Which suggests that logos, pathos and ethos should be balanced? However, which aspect of the rhetorical triangle the rhetorician favors depends on both the audience and the purpose of that speech or writing.

Rhetoric in present times

In contemporary times, the art of rhetoric appears in advertising, where it is not only concerned with the successful sale of commodities. It is also used in persuasion in relation to politics and ideology. And the information is dissipated from images to copy, footage to music. Aristotle’s rhetoric transcends both the medium and time.

ARTIST’S BRUSHSTROKES AND DETERIORATING VISION

Artist use their eye sight to survey a scene, scenery, faces etc, which guides them over the canvas and provide feedback on the colour and form of the work. Through this article Gaurav Goswami provides information about some of the famous artist who has been known to struggle with vision impairment.

Prime concern of an artist

Painter delivers the three dimensional world on a flat surface. In a way, in which artists depart from reality, by filtering it through their perception into a physical object capable of inducing a similar perception in the viewer. That is why a perfect vision is the basic necessity for an artist, failing which; can happen in old age or caused by an injury, can translate into an eerie loss of precision and detail in painting.

An aging artist’s vision

Studies have established that, the aging eye of an artist makes fewer tears, the cornea may lose clarity, the pupil stays smaller in both light and dark, the lens becomes – thicker, dense, more yellow and less elastic, and the retina loses a small percentage of its nerve cells every year. The artwork produce by such artist becomes complicated as the eye or brain forces them to see their surroundings in ways that diverge from standard experience.

Some famous artists with suspect vision

Many famous artists have been known to struggle with eye diseases that changed the vision of their works later in their lives.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Da Vinci is believed to have suffered from a type of eye disorder called intermittent exotropia; a condition which causes one or both eye to turn outward. Researchers have suggested that the disorder may have helped him because it would have given him the ability to switch to monocular vision, in which both eyes are used separately, and allowed him to focus on close up flat surfaces.

Claude Monet

Diagnosed with cataracts in 1912, Monet was recommended to undergo surgery. Cataracts are a progressive cloudiness of the lens inside the eye, producing blurred and dulled vision that can’t be corrected with spectacles. Claude Monet refused to undergo treatment and visual impact of his disorder is demonstrated in two paintings of the same scene: the Japanese footbridge over his garden’s lily pond. His first painting, painted ten years prior to his cataracts, is full of detail and subtle us of colour. The second painting, painted a year prior to his relenting to the surgery – shows musky and dark colour.

Francis Bacon

The works of 20th century British painter Francis Bacon are notorious for their power to unsettle. Neuroscientists have proposed that painter suffered from a rare neurological disorder called dysmorphopsia, which produces progressively changing and distorted perception. Bacon himself described his perception of faces as ever changing, with mouth and the head in constant motion.

Edger Degas

French artist Edgar Degas, 1834-1917, experienced progressive visual loss in the last 30 years of his life; this was concluded by Ophthalmologist Michael F Marmor in 2006, after he went through Degas correspondences. The disorder has not effect on Degas’s shading, colour and overall composition of the painting, but showed significant impact, as his paintings became coarse and lost refinement.

Distinguished mentions

Cezanne and Pissarro were myopic; which suggests the soft lines and vibrant colour found in their paintings. United States painters Mary Cassalt; 1844-1926 and Homer Martin; 1836-1897 suffered from cataracts. William Turner; 1775-1851 suffered from early, slight colour blindness and later cataracts. Rembrandt was speculated to have vision disorder.

A tricky path

A particular challenge to verify these speculations is that artists are free to represent the world in whatever fashion they see fit. But considering for one moment that these artists did actually suffer from these visual disorders then understanding the challenges they faced further illuminate the accomplishments they achieved.

COUNSELING OF STUDENTS AT SCHOOL LEVEL

Guidance and counseling is an important part of education at every level, especially at school level. Gaurav Goswami talks about the ever increasing need for appropriate counseling and guidance of school students in India.

A quick look back

In India schools are considered as the temple of learning and education is the preparation of life. In the past, Indian society with its strong family bonds, warm community feeling and spiritual essence has been working as a buffer in times of crisis and a support system to deal with various psycho-social issues. But, in recent times the Indian society have gone through a sea of changes from, the changing role of women, to a breakdown of the joint family system, rise in divorces, to increase in competitiveness in schools, rise in sociability of the children, increased technological advances, and peer and parental pressure, that have resulted in the formation of an environment that is loaded with stress and strain for students to deal with.    

Essence of education

Aim of education is the all-round development and harmonious adjustment of an individual in various aspects of student’s life. If this is to be achieved then education is not limited to imparting knowledge as the duty of a teacher, and accumulating knowledge as the duty of a student. Thus for self realization of the student guidance and counseling is needed. In short school counseling helps in reducing the effect of environmental and institutional barriers that impedes a student’s academic success.

History of school counseling

School counseling in India is relatively new. The first Child Guidance Clinic was started by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences at Wadia Hospital in 1938. The Wadia hospital also started a school health unit the same year, which referred children with behavioral problems to the hospital. The Ministry of Education, Government of India established the Central Bureau of Education and Vocational Guidance in 1954. After the 3rd five year plan; 1961, guidance services were initiated in schools by the trained counselors and career masters with assistance from school teachers. 1966 onwards the number of schools providing guidance service in one form or the other rose to 300. From the year 2000 the Central Bureau of Education and Vocational guidance has delegated the work of guidance professionals training to the regional institute of Guidance at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhuvaneshwar and Mysore.   

Need for guidance

At adolescence the student must know about his/her capacities, potential, and job opportunities after higher studies, about the expenses towards higher education, availability of scholarships and the places of admission etc. The student needs guidance for right selection of courses of studies and personal guidance for his/her problems. Even if many students may have educated adults for assistance, but may be reluctant to approach them. In some families the parents or elders may be uneducated. There may be instances where parents and elders at home are busy with their own professional lives, and the adolescents are left without any help and in some cases without love and affection. Unfortunate students face heterosexual problems, which they cannot discuss with parents. Apart from these problems, students do not know the method of studying, the right method of preparing for the examination, how to allocate leisure time, and how better to adjust with siblings at home and with peer group at school. Guidance is needed not only for the adolescent in problems, but also for gifted students. Guidance is also needed to check the dropout from school, to minimize the incidents of indiscipline. For the adolescents who lack a sense of direction, purpose and a sense of fulfillment, guidance is needed.

Lot of work needs to be done

There is a better need to enhance the school counseling field in India. Plus awareness towards emotional and behavioral adjustment needs of students and its associations with academic performance should be created among the teachers, parents, educators, administrators and community.

I end this article with a question ‘what is the aim of counseling?’

The following tries to point out what counseling aspires for-

• ·         To bring about the desired change in the individual for self realization.
• ·         To provide assistance to solve problems through an intimate personal relationship.
• ·         To achieve positive mental health.
• ·         To help students to make proper and satisfactory adjustments for improved academic pursuits and useful life.

GRATITUDE

Dear all,

Hi,

Thank you for following my blog, viewing and appreciating its content. Please keep encouraging me by providing with your valuable feedback.

I am taking this opportunity to ask for your help in expanding my writing horizon. So, if any one of you/your family/friends/colleagues and others, are in need of getting any article/articles/book(fiction/non fiction) etc written, please feel free to contact me.

Till now I have over 100 articles (on a variety of subjects)/short stories (fiction), published in reputed publications and posted on my blogs. At present I am in the process of writing my first Non-Fiction book; will keep updating you about the book.

Anyone interested can contact me through LinkedIn and Facebook also.  

I request each one of you to help me in taking this message to everyone out there.

Thank you for your help, appreciation and criticism.

Love,                                 

Gaurav Goswami

Email id: gauravgoswami0412@gmail.com

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