#1

I used to ask my parents the proverbial "are we there yet?" on long car trips. In my dad's definition, this could be called a rhetorical question, since the questions I asked when idle and bored were often unanswerable or sought no realistic answer. And so this idea of rhetoric has stuck with me since then, despite how inaccurate this perception may be.

These Foss writers in Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric seem to think that rhetoric isn’t necessarily argument, but simply the “art and discipline that facilitates our understanding of the nature and function of symbols in our lives.” Rhetoric is using symbols to communicate and express obviously intangible ideas, to get our point across, to make a record, and to persuade.

I think that rhetoric isn’t limited to words as symbols (and I’ve heard a bit of what I should say about rhetoric from what Master Muhlhauser thinks it is, admittedly), but also gestures and visuals and sensations. If I lacked the ability to speak I could probably, with awkward flapping motions, convincingly imply the idea of “chicken.” In another realm, excelling at the game of Pictionary doesn’t necessarily depend on artistic merit, but rather on the quickness to believably reproduce and identifiable idea. This is sad news for someone like me, who likes to spend a lot of time drawing, since a few shabby lines can elicit a leaping response almost instantly. And I was just rendering the final buttons on the straitjacket…

If nothing else, apparently a lot of old dead white (generally) guys wrote about rhetoric and how to use it, and it seems like something interesting and important that should make my ears (or eyes) perk up and listen too—because old dead white guys are important and interesting.

from dictionary.com:

rhet·o·ric /ˈrɛtərɪk/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ret-er-ik] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun

1.	(in writing or speech) the undue use of exaggeration or display; bombast.

2.	the art or science of all specialized literary uses of language in prose or verse, including the figures of speech.

3.	the study of the effective use of language.

4.	the ability to use language effectively.

5.	the art of prose in general as opposed to verse.

6.	the art of making persuasive speeches; oratory.

7.	(in classical oratory) the art of influencing the thought and conduct of an audience.

8.	(in older use) a work on rhetoric.

from http://dict.die.net/rhetoric/

rhetoric
    n 1: using language effectively to please or persuade
    2: high flown style; excessive use of verbal ornamentation
       [syn: grandiosity, magniloquence, grandiloquence]
    3: loud and confused and empty talk; "mere rhetoric" [syn: palaver,
        hot air, empty words, empty talk]
    4: study of the technique and rules for using language
       effectively (especially in public speaking)