Western Civilization Series Adresses Rhetoric in Ancient Greece

Dr. Ray Schuck from Bowling Green State University told students in Western Civilization 1 classes about the origins of rhetoric in ancient Greece today. Schuck teaches communications at BGSU and is a frequent contributer to the Series.

As usual, Schuck did a bang-up job describing the origins of rhetoric and sophism. He described the controversies surrounding the sophists, who argued that truth was relative to a community's perception of reality, and who took money for their teaching, which was frowned upon at the time. He went on to discuss the leading sophists, including Isocrates who argued that persuasion made human society possible, Protagoras, who held that every argument could be met with a counter argument and that a skilled rhetorician should know both sides of every argument, and Gorgias, the most famous of the sophists, who maintained that words do not represent reality, but hold the power to shape thought and action.

Schuck also discussed the critics of the sophists, that included Plato, who argued that rhetoric was not a techne, or a true art. He also spoke of Aristotle who attempted to find a middle ground by arguing that what we know in human affairs (history, political science) is not truth, but what we think is probable and that while there is an ultimate reality, rhetoric deals with that probability.

He also defined for students the important parts of rhetoric, such as enthymeme ( an argument in which one premise is assumed to be true, i.e. that freedom is a core value in America), and arete (virtue) which the sophists argued could be promoted through the use of rhetoric.

Schuck summed up telling students that rhetoric was significant to the study of communication, law, politics, philosophy, religion, literature and the meaning of culture.

Dr. Schuck received his undergraduate education at BGSU in Popular Culture, his Masters from Michigan State in American Studies, and his Ph.D. from Arizona State in Communications.