Considering Aristotelian Impact on Contemporary Composition

Both "Contemporary Composition: The Major Pedagogical Theories" and "A Brief History of Rhetoric and Composition" were important in understanding the way rhetorical thought and writing has evolved. Although Berlin's article focuses on his thesis that New Rhetoric is "the most intelligent and most practical alternative available," I feel that the latter of the two articles make a valid point in saying, "classical rhetoric, although concerned with oratory, still influences writing instruction" ("A Brief History")

What i would like to focus on are the devices within Aristotelian rhetoric: the rational, the emotional, and the ethical (258). When writing an argument, these can be powerful tools the writer can use. One common thread throughout all the pedagogies is approaches to finding truth. When speaking about Current Traditional Rhetoric two quotes stuck out to me:

"Current Traditional Rhetoric views the rhetorical situation of an arena where the truth is incontrovertibly established by a speaker or writer more enlightened than her audience"(268).

"...truth is empirically based and can only be achieved through subverting a part of the human response to experience" (268-9).

I could not help but to think, part of Aristotle, and thus, Aristotelian Rhetoric,would agree with these statements. After all, what better way to evoke a human response but with examples based in something the reader can put an emotional tangibility on? Likewise, a way to establish an enlightened writer could be through their command of ethics and a rational way of looking at things.

I acknowledge not every aspect of Aristotelian Classical Rhetoric can meld within today's contemporary composition pedagogies. However, it was refreshing to evaluate parts of rhetorical history to see how they have impacted our methods of learning, and also how they will continue to.