When watching Hecuba, I noticed that she argues
against persuasive use of logos in rhetoric but then uses it later to get her
way. She exclaims, “Why, oh! why do we
mortals toil, as we must, and seek out all other sciences, [815] but
Persuasion, the only real mistress of mankind, we take no further pains to
master completely by offering to pay for the knowledge, so that any man could
convince his fellows as he pleased and gain his point at once?”(http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Eur.%20Hec.%20841&lang=original)
There seems to be this contrast between the
logos used in rhetorical speeches and the true logic in what is just. Why do we study to specialize in an area when
one who knows very little in the subject area can be more successful because of
his persuasive nature? It doesn't seem
to be very rational. But is it just?
It reminded me of the spirit world. (Yes, I did
serve a mission…) I think that God used
the logos of justice when He explained His plan for us. But Satan on the other hand used persuasive
logos to gain followers even though they would never have the happiness they
could have by following their Father.
It really doesn't make much sense but as the
Greeks knew language was powerful and Satan knew that as well. We know that “Satan persuaded ‘a third part of the hosts of heaven’
to turn away from the Father”. (https://www.lds.org/topics/satan?lang=eng) We can see the power in language because one
was able to persuade a large group to leave behind all hope of salvation,
exaltation, and eternal progression for nothing.
The Greeks
often used the power of language to persuade others and to help
them to deal
with the irrational. Maybe the part of
the hosts of heaven that followed Satan had some irrational want of power and
following him and his speech was their way of dealing with it.
A very interesting post. Thanks for sharing! Throughout the course thus far I have had mixed feelings of the use of rhetoric or the principal of it. At times I have felt that it seems to be manipulative or a "fraud" as was said in class. Other times I have felt that in order to be a successful leader one must use these principals to help others. I had not given much thought about God using rhetoric in order to persuade the people but in some ways I am sure he did. If rhetoric is used to help illustrate a truth and allows the audience to see more clearly in order to choose for themselves than it can be such a remarkable tool for good but also one must remember the opposite. As you pointed out, those who use rhetoric in such a way to blind or deceive their audience is in the wrong. That being said, the audience is also in the wrong because they choose not to discern correctly. Your post was thought provoking. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI think that rhetoric is not merely being persuasive about that which you don't know. Quite the opposite, I think that your rhetorical skill in persuading is made more potent the more you know about it. A big part of talking well is actually knowing what you are talking about.
ReplyDeleteAs for the pre-earth life, I think the adversary did use rhetoric, he was learned (assuming that as a son of the morning he was learned). But I'm sure God used it too. But, again, His knowledge came into play as well.
So interesting to think about! I agree with the usage of rhetoric in eternity. There wasn't really much else that could have been used in the pre-Earth life, we didn't have bodies, so the fight against Satan couldn't have been physical. In my post I talked about how God helps us today, since He chooses not to control our decisions, how does He influence us to choose the right? He works through the Spirit, and the scriptures, and various other mediums that we all have learned about. The spirit is usually some type of appeal to our emotions, and the scripture is language meant to influence how we behave and view the world. Sounds a lot like what the Greeks were doing!
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