Nineteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Plato inspired me to frame and write about my own speaking in terms of classical rhetorical theory. I contextualize my discussion of my design talks within the more positive ideas of Plato’s student Aristotle, first touching on his three fundamental laws of logic (ethos, pathos, logos), then I move to Cicero and his five canons (inventio, dispositio, elocutio, memoria, actio). Although these are of less interest to me than coming to terms with Plato’s struggle with the morals of rhetoric, they end up being wild areas of exploration and appreciation of the sort of work I am doing in my design workshops and lectures. I organize my narrative according to conventions of rhetorical practice, and in my sub-headings I establish the various sections as elements of a rhetorical discourse. In this way, classical rhetorical theory adds value to what might otherwise be a narrative pastiche.