Aristotle s Rhetorical Rhetoric On The Human Soul

Aristotle’s Rhetorical Rhetoric Aristotle, a famous philosopher, is one of the most renowned Greek scholars, and was an influential force in ancient Greece and in modern society. He was the head of the Macedon royal academy, where he taught Alexander the Great, his most famous pupil. He founded the famous Lyceum in Athens later in his life, which is portrayed in Raphael’s painting â€Å"School of Athens.† Aristotle is known for his interest in nature and science, and his emphasis on empirical evidence to prove his points has become the keystone of modern scientific research. As a result, one of the topics he studied is the cause of human difference. He discusses in Book I of his series Politics the nature of the human soul and how different†¦show more content†¦Such an egotistical belief is expressed when Aristotle describes how â€Å"the soul rules the body with a despotical rule, whereas the intellect rules the appetites with a constitutional and roya l rule† (Aristotle, 5). By drawing a relationship between the intellect and fair rule, Aristotle appeals to the Greeks: if their form of government is truly the best, then Aristotle’s vision of the model citizen must be as well. Similarly, Aristotle’s descriptions of the superiority and inferiority of certain groups are also dependent on his familiarity with each group. Since Plato’s Academy, which preached an â€Å"elitist† philosophy (Welch, Marshall and Billig, 10), was mostly male (Reeve), Aristotle ranks males over females, fathers over mothers, and husbands over wives. Similarly, Aristotle places masters over slaves as he was a free citizen living among other free citizens; by corollary of such an authority-based dynamic, he also ranks natural rulers above subjects. Finally, as Aristotle had only lived in Greece before Politics was published, he had no personal exposure to the â€Å"barbarian† Persians, and thus stated that Hellenes, a term describing all Greeks unified together, were superior to the Persians (Biography.com). These explanations are not grounded in any sort of empirical evidence; rather, Aristotle classifies groups’ statuses