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What'd They Say?!: The Rhetorics of Ancient Greece
Varied Liberal Arts
"Effective speaking is a major part of life; the Ancients Greeks knew that well. They studied how they said what they said and why they said it."
15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit
It is generally accepted that there were three main schools of rhetoric competing in Ancient Greece: the Aristotelian school, the Platonic school, and the Sophistic school. The Aristotelian and Platonic schools were named because they followed the dictates of their greatest contributors Aristotle and Plato. But how did the Sophistic school get its name?
The name can be similarly traced back to its founder, Sophisticus.
The name loosely translates to "one who does business in wisdom" which was applied to the Sophists.
The Greek philosopher Gorgias named it after his wife, Sophie.
Other philosophers believed Sophistic teachings to be "sophomoric", so they labeled the Sophists as such.
Plato held that the true purpose of rhetoric should be to seek truth. In his work "Phaedrus", he examined the human soul's search to return to the absolute truth of all things, which could only be found in a place beyond the earth's boundaries. Represented by an evil horse, what was it that held back the soul in its pursuit of truth?
Confidence in one's intuitions
Active participation in philosophy
The gods' punishment
Earthly and worldly concerns
Students of Platonic rhetoric believed that absolute truth is only attainable by reading sacred texts.
According to Platonic rhetorical ideas, in which of the following ways should speakers reach the members of any of the audiences to which they might be speaking?
Offer them universal ideas that apply to all humans.
Tell them that nobody can know the truth and that you can only try to do the best you can.
Give them logistical arguments based only on scientific evidence.
Make them fear you so that your ideas are their concerns.
In Aristotle's "Rhetoric", he claims that the art of rhetoric includes "the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion." Which of the following is not one of Aristotle's three famous modes of persuasion?
Students of Aristotelian rhetoric believed that knowledge invented by humans (which is meant to persuade) can only be probable and never absolute.
Aristotle believed rhetoric to be an art that can be categorized and learned, and that there can be generic audience situations. By understanding the similarities between different audiences, we can try to guess what techniques will be most effective. What are these techniques in rhetoric called?
Which of the following is the correct spelling of the Greek considered to be a Sophist rhetorician and Attic orator (and not to be confused with Socrates)?
Sophistic rhetoric was reviled by the other schools of rhetoric, but especially the Platonic school. In fact, the two schools are often considered opposites of one another. What idea about truth in Sophism was so contrary to Platonic ideas?
Absolute truth can be achieved.
Truth cannot be learned, it is merely there.
There is no absolute truth; there is only what man deems true or untrue.
Truth exists in each person and can be discovered.
In accordance to Sophistic ideas, what would a Sophist proclaim about how truthful the answer to this question is?
It is truthful because it is based on hard fact as opposed to opinion.
It is only truthful because each of us has decided to declare it truthful.
It is not truthful because truth is dependent upon a higher power.
It is truthful because I know more than you.
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Compiled May 22 13