Aristotelian ethics and Aristotelian rhetoric

Marcel Becker

pp. 109-122

in: Liesbeth Huppes-Cluysenaer, Nuno (eds), Aristotle and the philosophy of law, Berlin, Springer, 2013

Abstract

In our search for an appropriate assessment of the place of rhetoric in courts, we see that the history of philosophy offers a variety of descriptions of what rhetoric is as well as a variety of notions of what rhetoric should be. The paper shows that in the work of Aristotle rhetoric and ethics are inextricably connected. Aristotle's limitation of rhetorical activity to three domains, his description of rhetoric as an offshoot from politics, his view on emotions and his elaboration of rhetoric as "technê" all imply that the art of rhetoric is directly related to the orientation towards the good life. Subsequently the paper shows that Nicomachean Ethics has a rhetorical calibre. The contingent character of practical truth implies that discovering and communicating practical truth inevitably has a rhetoric dimension.

Cited authors

Aristoteles