ARCS
Chapter 6
This chapter focused on character and ethical
proof. There are two kinds of ethical proof; they are invented ethos and
situated ethos. One thing I think is interesting is Quintilian’s argument that
a bad person could never become a respected orator because a good rhetor needs
to maintain its good characters in order to persuade his audience. I kind of
disagree with this argument because I think that sometimes a person’s outstanding
power and persuasiveness can still make up effective speech. Hitler is a good
example, he is a bad guy but he is a very powerful speaker with his authority
and military power. Though, I do agree that if bad people are to become
orators, it will lead to destructive social impact. This is because the evil
orator will persuade his audiences to do bad things. I also disagree with the
idea that “an ethos was not given by nature but was developed by habits” (p.
149). This is because I think biological or genetic factors do play a role in
the development of ethos. I think that genetic factors contribute to the
formation of one’s personality because recent study has found that babies can
recognize actions that fall into good and bad categories, thus it is possible people
are born to know the idea of good and evil. I am also interested in Aristotle’s
list of three possible ethical mistakes. The second ethic mistake was “through
forming opinions rightly they do not say what they think because of a bad
character” (p. 152). When I was reading it, this idea immediately reminded me
of a guy I know, he had such a bad character that you easily mistaken him as
the villain, my point is even when you know he has a right point, you still
cannot accept the way he acted on it because his bad attitude is intolerable.
This also reinforce the importance of good character development, because would
it matter if you are really good if you don’t ever show it? Lastly, I think
that sometimes achieving goodwill is the hardest thing to do. Cicero said in
the chapter “goodwill could be won if we refer to our own acts and services
without arrogance, if we weaken the effect of charges that have been preferred,
or of some suspicion of less honorable dealing which has been cast upon us; if
we dilate on the misfortunes which have befallen us or the difficulties which
still beset us” (p. 159). I think really there is no way to stop arrogance or
other vices when they come, again even if you are trying to be good, sometimes
life just disappoints you and you can’t help but feeling all the negative
feelings inside. I think on this point Cicero is a lot like Plato because they
are both claiming about virtuous ideologies are just too good (too unrealistic)
to be true.
RT,
Medieval Rhetoric, Intro, pp.429-449. Augustine, pp. 450-485.
The reading mainly introduced Augustine and
his book On Christian Doctrine. The
first three books introduced how to understand Bible and how to tell the truth.
The first book talks about blessedness and that God can cure people’s
impurities if they follow his words. In Book2, Augustine talked about the
purpose of words is to inform what people’s thoughts and knowledge. In the same
chapter, Augustine also talked about the four kinds of interpretive problems;
they are unknown literal, unknown figurative, ambiguous literal, and ambiguous
figurative signs. I find it interesting that in the fourth book, Augustine said
that “A preacher ought to consider that he is talking on something of little
weight, and so should express himself not in the moderate or in the grand
style, but in the subdued style” (p.471). I do agree that a priest should be
careful of what they say because they need to follow the God’s words but I know
very little of how actual priests really behave these days; and I doubt that
all priests talk in the same subdued way to different people. I also find it
interesting that Augustine said “For the man who speaks wisely and eloquently,
but lives evilly, he is unprofitable to his own soul.” I do agree with this
idea and I do think that an evil orator will not keep his career long because
his evil doings are the opposite of the things he said and this can ruin his
reputation and credibility.
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