Brophy 1

Erin Brophy
Dr. Werner
ENGL 113
13 January 2015
Critical Summaries Issue 1
Losh, Elizabeth, Johnathon Alexander, Kevin Cannon, and Zander Cannon.
Understanding Rhetoric. Boston; Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. Print.
Issue 1 in Understanding Rhetoric is all about the beginnings of rhetoric and
its use throughout history. The chapter starts with how rhetoric is starting to take on
a negative connotation. It is used often in news before or during elections or
political debates. When reporting, newscasters have started presenting using the
term rhetoric in such a way that its starting to mean shifty or sly. After shedding
light on the current opinion of rhetoric, the authors jump back to ancient Greece
where they introduce philosophers Plato and Aristotle who have very differing
opinions of how rhetoric can affect society. Plato was against teaching rhetoric
because he believed it would be used to corrupt and deceive others. Aristotle, on
the other hand, supported the use of rhetoric in plays and education to teach
students to behave in appropriate ways.
Issue 1 also worked to break down rhetoric into three components that make
up rhetoric: ethos, pathos and logos. These three fundamental aspects of rhetoric
are used by speakers to draw in their audiences and make stronger arguments for
the topic they are discussing. (183)

Brophy 2
Rhetoric is a way of speaking thats concrete definition has slowly been
developing and changing over time with the evolution of speech and writing.
Rhetoric is the way a speaker presents his or her arguments, in addition to being
means of thinking about how we talk (Lush 38). Greek philosophers Plato and his
student Aristotle, debated the importance and effect of rhetoric in education.
According to author Elizabeth Losh, Plato believed that rhetoric was only used to
hide flaws, not encourage self-improvement (Losh 39), whereas Aristotle viewed
of rhetoric as an important educational tool (41). Nowadays, the publics opinion of
rhetoric more often relates to that of Plato rather than Aristotle. Headlines and
broadcasts interpretation and use of the term rhetoric seem have led people to
view it as a negative, deceitful tactic that politicians use to trick voters.
Rhetoric is a combination of three different components: ethos, pathos, and
logos. Ethos has to do with the credibility of the speaker and the effect this has on
his or her audience (Lush 44). For example, a mother is more likely to give her child
a flu shot if recommended by a licensed pediatrician because the argument the
doctor gives as reason for the shot is considered dependable because of her
background in medicine. Pathos is the emotion used in an argument to relate to the
audience or have the listeners empathize with speaker (Lush 44). This is often times
used in passionate speeches, like Martin Luther King Jrs I Have a Dream Speech.
Logos, like it sounds, uses logic in an argument to make a claim. In Understanding
Rhetoric, Elizabeth Lush uses a three pieced example; All humans are mortal
Plato is a human [therefore] Plato is a mortal (44). This use of logic is simple,
easy to follow and makes a point. (303)