Comments on: Classical Rhetoric 101: An Introduction

By: JR

JR — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:41:46 +0000

It’s rather fortuitous that AOM decided to cover this topic since I’m searching for Grad programs in Rhetoric myself (leaning towards the University of Texas-Austin).

Anyway there’s a blog that I think some of you guys may find helpful: http://www.figarospeech.com/. The person who runs the site (Jay Heinrichs) also wrote a book on Rhetoric- “Thank You for Arguing”. It’s straight forward and gives advice that most people would find helpful. Enjoy!

By: Jacob Freeman

Jacob Freeman — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:46:48 +0000

Simplify your environment, remove clutter and expand your mind. He who owns little is little-owned.

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 07:42:55 +0000

I own and administrate a motorcycle forum with over 13000 members. Our love of all things motorcycle brings us together, but invariably the conversations turn to politics and religion. We have an “Off-Topic” section for such discussions. When I first started the site I decided that I would not allow the discussions on my site to devolve to the level that is seen on so many forums these days. First and foremost, I require that my users engage each other in a civil manner and do not allow the use of foul and vulgar language. As might be expected, many of the users REALLY struggle to meet this standard. Sadly, I have come to believe that the majority of people (not just those on my site) lack the ability to argue using logic and principles and to refrain from personal attacks. The VAST majority of my time is spent trying to get people to raise the level of discourse, to engage the ideas and not attack the person, and to present their arguments in a clear and logical manner. Despite the fact that many of my users are college educated and successful professionals, those that are able to write well are a tiny minority. However, I do still get comments from many of our users along the lines that they really appreciate that I maintain a high expectation from our users in terms of their behavior towards each other. In a sea of sites where free for all emotional flame fests seem to be the norm, they find it refreshing to visit a site where that is not accepted.

I too look forward to the rest of these essays. I will most certainly be sharing them with the members of my forum in the hope that all of us might benefit from them.

By: Andrej Škraba

Andrej Škraba — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 07:27:27 +0000

Great! Looking forward on reading more about my favourite topic :)

By: climbstrong

climbstrong — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:22:42 +0000

I’m impressed with men who can accurately and succinctly articulate their position, and as a guy who has a hard time doing so, i’d always wished i’d had to take classes in rhetoric. this will be an interesting series; thank you for taking the time to put it together.

By: Jacob Freeman

Jacob Freeman — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 01:21:52 +0000

Too much knowledge is a burden to the soul. Too little is the path to slavery.

By: Patrick Kniesler

Patrick Kniesler — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 00:36:03 +0000

Its twice as bad as you say when it comes to modern education. Not only do institutions skimp on the rhetoric and argument construction, but they offer advertising and marketing classes which aren’t shy about nefarious advertising.

By: PeterPansDad

PeterPansDad — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 15:25:50 +0000

Can we have a list of suggested reading to accompany the series?

By: robyn yager

robyn yager — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 04:44:04 +0000

I love this. I’m excited to read your articles coming up!

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 05:43:04 +0000

It’s encouraging to see people taking their cues from the classics.