A thought on Rhetoric

This isn't a full post, but I wanted to write something today--if only to post more things this month than last month.

There are two processes that describe reactions to words--Amelioration and Pejoration. The first is when attitudes toward a word improve, the latter is when they degrade. For example, many curse words are ameliorating, becoming more and more acceptable in society-at-large.

"Rhetoric" on the other hand, has pejorated. Chances are that when you hear or read the word "rhetoric", your gut reaction is negative--because obviously "Rhetoric" is hollow and meaningless and meant to trick you. How terribly Platonic of you.

Aristotle defined Rhetoric as (roughly) "the power of determining for any given situation the best means of persuasion." I wish to point out that, while "power" is a translation of the original word, it is the best available translation. If you think about it, though, power is neither good nor evil. Power is, essentially, amoral. It is capable of being used towards evil ends, or toward good ends.

Moreover, I want to point out that when you are attempting to persuade anyone, you are employing rhetoric in one form or another. It isn't trickery, it's the honest application of a means to achieve a desired result--whether that result is a good one or a bad one depends upon what you seek to achieve.