Abstract
A teacher of communication courses is usually saddened by students who see no harm in stretching the truth or padding evidence "just a little" if it produces a better speech or a more effective argument. Each experience of dealing with such a student does have the positive effect of forcing the educator to re-evaluate her/his teaching and attempt to root out anything that suggests that discovering "the available means of persuasion" means "anything that works is OK". Each experience is a battle for the ethical use of rhetorical skill-a battle which stretches from the earliest centuries of rhetorical consciousness to the present time.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the question of what an understanding of rhetoric as epistemic suggests about the appropriate use of the skills communication educators profess to teach. Michael C. Leff's article, "In Search of Ariadne's Thread," is a convenient jumping off point to question the assumptions about the proper use of rhetoric inherent in Gorgias's Encomium on Helen, and then to discuss the rhetorical/ethical implications of Gorgias's techniques. Far from being merely a fine piece of rhetorical art, the Encomium on Helen sets a frightening precedent for the irresponsible use of a powerful force.
Journal Title
Iowa Journal of Speech Communication
Volume
21
Issue
1
First Page
13
Last Page
20
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Doncaster, Diana L.
(1989)
"What is More Real than Rhetoric?,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 21:
No.
1, Article 5.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol21/iss1/5
Copyright
©1989 Iowa Communication Association
