Johnson, Nan. “Ethos and the Aims of Rhetoric” Essays on Classical

Johnson, Nan. “Ethos and the Aims of Rhetoric” Essays on Classical Rhetoric and Modern Discourse. Southern Illinois UP: Carbondale. 1984.

“ In Plato’s Gorgias, Socrates observes that “the supreme object of a man’s efforts in public and private life must be the reality rather than the appearance of goodness” (99). =B

“In Plato’s Gorgias and Phaedrus, the role of rhetoric is defined as the instruction of ideal truth. Plato proposes in Gorgias that the true aim of oratory should be the ‘moral good,’ not merely persuasion as an end in itself” (99). =B
“Dialectic discovers or identifies ideal truth while rhetoric provides instruction for the community about the application of philosophy in life” (100). =B & M

“Persuasion through the spoken word is of three kinds; ethos, “the personal character of the speaker”; pathos, “putting the audience into a certain frame of mind”; and logos, ‘the proof, or apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech itself’ (101). = B

“Aristotle perceives excellence or the Good as perfection of form possible through the effects of individual acts and mutual understanding; Plato defines the Good as an ideal which is only revealed to us in philosophical inquiry or spiritual edification” (103). =B

“Quntilian perceives rhetoric as an ethical activity which grounds citizens in “the priniciples of upright and honorable living” (103). =B

“Rhetoric is presented in De Oratore (55 B.C.) as the art of speaking well, and Cicero outlines the province of oratory or “eloquence” to be matters relevant to the maintenance of ‘peace and tranquility’ in communities and nations” (104). =B

“While Campbell evaluates ethos as a strategy in terms of what is ‘natural’ Blair assesses the significance of ethos and rhetorical principles in general with regard to how expression advances Taste” (108)” = B

“In the rhetorics of Campbell and Blair we see how classical definitions of the practical and ethical functions of ethos are adapted to popular philosophical views of the eighteenth century and to expanded notions of the province of rhetoric” (109). =B

“Whatley defines rhetoric as an ‘architectural’ art of composing arguments, and he defines ethos as a strategy of gaining sympathy. Like Campbell, Whatley sees sympathy as the key to moving the Will to action, and he defines ethos as ‘an impression produced by the projection of good sense, good principle and Good Will” (109-10).

“Channing shares Blair’s view that sincerity is a prerequisite to the composition and delivery of public address” (110). =B

“The concept of ethos rarely appears in current texts by name. Rather, it is discussed under such varied stylistic headings as ‘tone’ ‘writer’s voice’ ‘personal appeal’, ‘attitude,’ ‘persona,’ and ‘credibility.’ (112).

“One of the major goals of rhetoricians such as Richard Weaver and Wayne Booth has been to restore a balance between pragmatic and objective ideals as a basis for rhetorical theory and practice” (113).