On the Ethical-Political Implications of Aristotle’s Rhetoric
Author: Yuan-Tse Lin
Abstract / Chinese PDF Download
Aristotle defines rhetoric as the ability to see what is potentially persuasive inevery given case. Rhetoric qualifies itself as the art of persuasion through argumentsin the public speech domain . By providing commentary on Aristotle’s theory ofpersuasion, this article will present Aristotle’s ethics of rhetoric.For Aristotle, the typical subjects of public speech are not like those of thetheoretical philosophy which deals with the things that belong to the realm ofinevitable law. The scientific demonstration cannot be applied in this changeablepractical domain. Aristotle therefore provides us with three means of persuasion:through the character of the speaker (ēthos-proof), the emotional state of the listener(pathos-proof), or through the argument itself (logos-proof). The focus of this articleis an exploration of the ethical-political implications of Aristotle’s rhetoric bycomparing his theory of persuasion with insights of pragmatics (Habermas) andtheories of argument (Toulmin), casuistry (Jonsen), and other new rhetoricians.Challenging the conservative interpretation of “neo-Aristotelianism”, thisarticle also tries to bring about new perspectives on Aristotle’s ethics and politics.