Rhetoric, Poetics and Logic

by Aristotle

Aristotle's contribution to the sum of wisdom dominates all our philosophy and even provides direction for much of our science. And all effective debaters, whether they know it or not, employ Aristotle's three basic principles of effective argument that form the spine of Rhetoric: "ethos," the impact of the speaker's character upon the audience; "pathos," the arousing of the emotions; and "logos," the advancement of pertinent arguments. In Poetics, Aristotle observes several aspects of epic poetry, lyric poetry, and comedy, and he draws a dramatic distinction between poetry and history. He maintains that poetry has greater philosophical value because it deals with universals, while history states particular facts. Aristotle's body of work that has come to be identified as Logic includes: classification into 10 categories; proposition; syllogism; and inductive and deductive reasoning. (P)1992 by Blackstone Audiobooks

Genres: Philosophy, Poetry, Classics, Nonfiction, Ancient, Audiobook, Science

Audio Cassette

First published March 1, 1992

About the author

Aristotle (Greek: Αριστοτέλης; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts. As the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy in the Lyceum in Athens, he began the wider Aristotelian tradition that followed, which set the groundwork for the development of modern science.
Little is known about Aristotle's life. He was born in the city of Stagira in northern Greece during the Classical period. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, and he was brought up by a guardian. At 17 or 18, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of 37 (c. 347 BC). Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, tutored his son Alexander the Great beginning in 343 BC. He established a library in the Lyceum, which helped him to produce many of his hundreds of books on papyrus scrolls.
Though Aristotle wrote many treatises and dialogues for publication, only around a third of his original output has survived, none of it intended for publication. Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him. His teachings and methods of inquiry have had a significant impact across the world, and remain a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion.
Aristotle's views profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. The influence of his physical science extended from late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance, and was not replaced systematically until the Enlightenment and theories such as classical mechanics were developed. He influenced Judeo-Islamic philosophies during the Middle Ages, as well as Christian theology, especially the Neoplatonism of the Early Church and the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church.
Aristotle was revered among medieval Muslim scholars as "The First Teacher", and among medieval Christians like Thomas Aquinas as simply "The Philosopher", while the poet Dante Alighieri called him "the master of those who know". His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, and were studied by medieval scholars such as Pierre Abélard and Jean Buridan. Aristotle's influence on logic continued well into the 19th century. In addition, his ethics, although always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was hard to get through; Aristotle is unquestionably a genius, and I am unquestionably not. So I have to go really broad - and just talk about what I was able to take away. The modalities of communication are complex, and those who understand this are able to more cogently get their point(s) across to influence others. It is truly amazing how many many ways there are to influence people; and how you can resist being influenced once you know how the game is played. I think I will revisit all three writings in the future - trying to understand a little more with each reading.

[sch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting with Rhetoric (trans. W. Rhys Roberts). Finished, and it's wonderful, but once again this is not a great audiobook choice. Not alone, anyway; it would be a good accompaniment to a print reading. The narrator's graceful English lilt suits the subject (he also narrates Wodehouse).

Moving on to Logic, but it's actually only the Posterior Analytics. The translation is by G. R. G. Mure, which is freely available online.

Poetics is prefaced by a brief essay by Richard McKeon. The translation is by Ingram Bywater, which I happen to own in another print edition. Poetics is shorter and easier than the first two books.

I ought to listen to all three again in a few months.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rethoric made it worth it, logic should not be consumed in audiobook form. Poetics has little modern use.

[Zarathustra Goertzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aristotle is a based logician :)

I find the way he dissects Posterior Analytics quite inspiring. He goes fairly deeply into the distinction between scientific demonstration and reasoning about universals (and apparently one needs to look in Metaphysics for discussions of the basic principles, as science proper is concerned with the middle term >:D).

I was a bit dazed by Poetics, as listening to the PA section is quite draining.

Rhetoric is amazing. He does a case analysis of everything that moves a man, for how can we argue effectively if we don't know what makes people happy? :-p

Then he gets down to how to persuade people, when to use syllogism and when to use maxim, how to present insults as being said by a third person, et cetera :)

I feel it's too bad I was nudged to read Plato instead -- but how many students would read a lengthy case analysis such as this? ... Aye aye aye ~

[Arash Ahsani · Rating 3 out of 5]

What Aristotle did to Plato is similar to what Catholicism did to Orthodoxy and it is only natural that during the reign of the Catholic church the Aristotelian teachings gained ground and gradually substituted the Platonic understanding of world; an understanding which was more compatible with christianity as it was meant to be by Saint Paul, however if one is compelled to understand physics as it is Aristotle is certainly a better source than Newton or any of the post renaissance figures.
Denique, we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater so I leave you with one the greatest quotes of Aristotle from his poetics:

"the line between virtue and vice is one dividing the whole of mankind"

[Porter · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are definitely some good morsels and grains in here but man is it a dry read. What Aristotle did in the time period in which he did it is pretty remarkable and he served to be a foundational point for logic and philosophical thought to build off of but these works must be taken with a grain of salt and viewed more as historical pieces than of a practical learning tool.

[Christian Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Between it being a slog, the logical holes, and redundancy, this one is getting two stars

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

reality over appearance and much much more.