SPCM 201 1st Edition Lecture 15Petrus Ramus Who is Petrus Ramus? 1515-1572 A.D. A religious professor of philosophy and eloquence At Collège de France A humanist (like Erasmus) Beloved by his students for his style and wit Frenchman Huguenot (Calvinist Protestant) convert during the European religious wars Things end not so great for Ramus Ramus’ Central These “I have a single argument, a single subject matter, that the arts of dialect and rhetoric have been confused by Aristotle Cicero, and Quintilian.” He writes critiques of each man, but we’re reading Against Quintilian today What is so wrong with them (generally)? “If they had applied many months as I have [applied] years,” we would be better off. Their work is not truthful (“fallacious” and “confused”) whereas “mine are truthful and distinct.” So, what shall we do about it? “We shall distinguish the art or rhetoric from other arts, and make it a single of the liberal arts, not a confused mixture of all arts; we shall separate its true properties, remove weak and useless subtleties, and point out the things that are missing.” So, what is wrong with Quintilian (specifically)? His definition of rhetoric is “useless and stupid.” Why? It requires an orator to do more than what oratory teaches him Rhetoric “is not an art that which explains all the virtuous qualities of character” This is Philosophy’s job According to Ramus D OK, so what should rhetoric look like to Ramus instead? “Two gifts” are bestowed on Man by Nature: Reason & Speech ReasonThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- The ability to think, assess, structure, and judge - This ability belongs to dialectic/philosophy Speech - The ability to communicate ideas with words (after they have been thought up by reason)- This belongs to rhetoric Therefore… Rhetoric should have nothing to do with “the arrangement of subject matter” Leave that to dialectic/philosophy Also, the ability to think and judge belongs to reason not speech Recalling this information is also derived form the mind But RHETORIC should have: Embellishments Tropes and figures Syntax Word Choice “Dignified delivery” Re-Dividing the Canon (in Ramus’ opinion) Rhetoric Style Delivery Philosophy Invention Arrangement Memory Ramus says Quintilian has “confused dialectic itself with rhetoric” since “invention, arrangement,and memory belong to dialectic and only style and delivery to rhetoric.” What is the effect of this division for rhetoric (i.e. why is this viewed as so damaging to the art?) Ramus succeeds in turning RHETORIC into the CARICATURE its enemies have always made it out to be since Plato Just decorative flourishes and uninformative chatter The “Dumb” Person Analogy Ramus’s proof that his division is more correct By “dumb” he means someone who cannot speak and perhaps not hear or see Pejorative Even a man who cannot speak see, or hear; who is locked in his own world without the ability to communicate, can still: Think (invention) Organize (arrangement) Remember (memory) However, he will never use style or delivery Implications As someone who teaches eloquence and philosophy, Ramus’s word carries weight As an esteemed teacher who has garnered influence among powerful people, his views are spread and adopted RHETORIC, then is inflicted a potentially fatal wound However, as the story goes, Peter Ramus faces the revenge of the rhetoricians in the end… St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre Dies along with 3,000
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