"He must be a poor creature who cannot advance a good reason for everything ,even for what is worst and depraved."-Hegel

When I began to read Rhetoric, I had no prior knowledge of the topic or what rhetoric even meant. After reading the first chapter, I think I got a pretty good idea of what it means. My interpretation of rhetoric is that it is not a single definition rather it is a way of life. As Ramage states, there can be "Serious People", and "Rhetoric People". While "Serious People" base life off of reasoning and fact, "Rhetoric People" will live on intuition, experience and the understanding that each situation and its outcome will differ as no situation is ever the same, nor is your thinking from day to day. Being a rhetoric individual is one who recognizes every situation creates a different conclusion. "You will never step in the same river twice," said Heraclitus. I believe that someone who considers themselves a "Rhetoric Person" will believe in the previous quote as opposed to Parmenides quote, "You step in one river, you've stepped in 'em all." Although I am not completely confident in my understanding of the term rhetoric, that is my understanding of the term.


I think it was interesting how the anti-rhetoric view seemed to believe that rhetoric holds no truth and it is simply a way to justify decisions. However as Ramage goes on, I feel he did prove that rhetoric holds truth. If rhetoric is the idea that no two situations are the same, then he proves that theory with the example of how Americans use to view "cruel and unusual punishment" and how they view it presently . If the correct way of life is to think, one-dimensionally and always stay true to your attitudes to something no matter what, then those people should agree that cruel and unusual punishment is okay, because that's what they did in the 1800's. If fact is fact and we should always stick to what has been done before and never question anything, then the ones who thinks that way should agree with capital punishment, 14 year old children getting pregnant, and women without rights. I mean, that's what they did earlier in this world. A "Serious person",as Ramage calls them, should agree with all the above. Rhetoric is asking questions and challenging the meanings of words, without rhetoric people's thoughts would be the same as they were to those who lived in the 18th century. I especially liked that portion of the chapter. I felt that Ramage was proving his point with me, that rhetoric is a real thing and it should have its own value in the world.

Overall when I walked away from Rhetoric, I left with a good feeling in my body. I, for the most part, enjoyed it. With any reading, I got restless at parts, however I felt like this book picked itself up quickly. I liked Ramage's use of metaphors, because it helped me understand some of the word jargon that he would occasionally use. I look forward to being able to fully indulge myself in a topic that I have no prior knowledge on.