Aristotle Rules

Aristotle’s Model Still Works

Frankly, we personally would not know Aristotle’s principles if the Google information system landed on our thick, three-pound cabeza.
If we ever learned his ideas, they are buried in the same crypt with algebra, geometry and Shakespeare.

Just to sound cool, Aristotle lived in 384 and cashed in his chips in 322 B.C.; he studied with Plato (not Mickey’s dog) and started a prep school he called the
Lyceum. Some remember he was tutor to Alex the Greatest.

He impressed me because when a politico in Athens denounced him for
“not holding the Gods in honor,” he ran as fast his fat little feet could carry him.
He left this message for his friends and students: “I will not allow the Athenians
to sin twice against philosophy.” He had not forgotten the fate of Socrates who
was Hemlocked for his desire to teach philosophy to Athenian youth.

So What

Aris was a practical, concrete guy who advocated using our sensory observations for
analytic logic. He liked deductive thinking, Dialetics, (logical argument) to discover the truth. His other big hit was Syllogisms, a major and minor premise resulting in
combining both in a conclusion. Wait. “All A is C, all B is A; therefore All B is C.”

PhDs say he is the George Washington of western philosophy: science, knowledge, and thinking. We like his ideas on the art of influence and conviction; they work
just as well almost 2,400 years later.

Aristotle’s Big Three

1. Ethos: an appeal based on the character of the speaker, writer or organization. Humans have default filters in their circuitry. We tend to believe folks we know (law of familiarity), compared to strangers.
When someone says, Trust Me! – we run the other way unless he/she has
a past history of rectitude and integrity, right?

When you are attempting to convince others such as your office team,
selling face-to-face or placing an advertisement – you must begin with
a summary of why the reader, listener or viewer should believe you.

Ethos is your credentials leading to credibility. Why should I believe you?

2. Logos: the use of reasons-why what you advocate in your talk, article or
TV commercial is not an insult to my intelligence.

You may impress us with the fact that 3 billion other folks enjoyed your
hamburgers; contains low or no trans-fats; won the national taste-test for 2007; or is lowest priced product or service. Humans read articles, reports
and books consciously searching for reasons to believe or in the absence of
logic, to reject your attempt at persuasion.

Can you trick the public with emotional arguments disguised as reason and logic? Politicians do it daily. Common sense is absolutely not common.

3. Pathos: appeals based on arousing the reader, listener or viewer’s emotions
and feelings. Good examples are political speeches, tear-jerking movies, and
advertising bombarding us up to 4,000 times daily.

Is there a place in books, articles and reports for legitimately using Pathos?
The Roosevelt speech after the attack on Pearl Harbor was based on Pathos.
The president wished to aroused the nation to win a war and appealed to
their fear and anxieties. Did it work? You bet. WWII.

Most of us conveniently forget our own feelings about the second Gulf War;
95% of the citizenry supported war against Iraq. Sure, we heard it was to
remove weapons of mass destruction, but we supported the President because he convinced us Saddam was a villain. As long as we were winning
and not losing too many troops, he had the support of the nation.

American got upset not because we were misled, but because the war lasted
too (5 years) long.

Four Subconscious Ideas

Do you believe Homo sapiens have produced a reasoning, logical civilization?
Our first and default brain reaction is to response, yes.

Brain research in 2007 supports the reality that humans
react and behave based on their emotions generated by their amygdala
and limbic nervous system as their default filter.

Do this mean we ignore logic, reason and organization? We desire
immediate gratification not delayed, and the pursuit of pleasure and
the avoidance of pain. These are concrete outcomes, not theoretical,
because we are a combination of a genome, experiences in our
environment and directed mental effort (will and ego).

Scientific research indicates our subconscious leads us based on our
instincts, genes and emotions; we save logic, reason, deductive and
inductive analysis for architecture, physics, math, and engineering.

Humans like to justify their choices and outcomes after the fact
by clear, logical thinking. It comes after we use our emotions to
decide our choices and behaviors.

a) Should I keep listening (or close my eyes), reading
and viewing this person, film or report or hit delete?

b) Why should I believe this bunk and the bum talking,
writing or showing his/her dumb pictures?

c) Is what I am hearing, seeing or reading the real-deal
and trust-worthy? How do I decide? Too much trouble?
Recriminations and regrets occur from letting
others steer our thinking.

d) Would I recommend what he/she or it is advocating to my family, significant-other or my company with my reputation
at stake?

Rhetoric

This Greek derived word originally meant: that which is spoken. It added
these meanings over the millennia: exaggerating, a display, and bombast. It
also means the effective use of language, and the art of influencing the
thinking and conduct of others. Nice logo.

If you are not from the planet Pluto (not Mickey’s dog either), you spend
many of your waking hours in persuading and influencing others. You
and I are salespeople, no matter how much it insults our self-image.

If you are a lawyer your mind is occupied with convincing clients to retain
your services and brilliant skills of persuasion of a judge and jury.

Our system of law is called adversarial meaning lawyers who oppose and
attack. High class attorneys are there to be in opposition and contest
their honorable counterpart. It’s from Latin of course, meaning hostile.

Can you use language to influence and persuade your corporate team,
students, family and clients? If you are lacking in rhetoric, your dreams of
avarice, promotions and success are mere whims.

Endwords

We suggest for the sake of promotions, personal productivity and
the avoidance of Alz, plus up to 9 years of extra longevity, you learn
to 3x your learning skills and 2x your long term memory. Ask us how.

See ya,
copyright 2007 H. Bernard Wechsler, www.speedlearning.org
hbw@speedlearning.org
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