Self introduction and a look at rhetoric

Hello again everybody,
My names Drew Ickes. This will be my second year hear at Kutztown, and my second class taught by Prof. Mahoney. Yep, that rhetorical style open-mindedness of a lecture must have apparently left a lasting impression. Currently I'm undeclared, but I have a good idea my major will involve English.
After reading the first 32 pages of Rhetoric: A User's Guide by John Ramage, I soon found out that the author's definition of rhetoric is never openly declared. So I decided to go with Aristotle's "legendary" definition instead; "the capacity to find the available means of persuasion in a given circumstance"-page 7. Simple, but surprisingly on point with what Ramage has expressed in his writing. Though cynical at times, Ramage does a great job explaining the historical and social implications of rhetoric throughout mankind. He speaks of rhetoric as if it always coincides with personal agenda and in all circumstances is used for selfish purpose. Believing the world is a place of interpretation, and this persuasive concept is used as a philosophical device, to gain support by others through intelligent argument.