Aristotle’s Rhetoric Model of Communication- Classical communication Model

Aristotle’s Rhetoric Model of Communication (384-322 B.C)

Classical communication Models

Aristotle was a great philosopher born in Stagira, Chalcidice, Northern Greece. He was popularly known along with his teacher Plato as being the Father of Western Philosophy. He was also the teacher of Alexander the Great. Aristotle spoke about Rhetoric and focused on the Speaker, Speech and Audience which was explained with the terms:

1. Ethos (speaker), 
2. Logos (the content of the message itself) and 
3. Pathos (inheres in the audience/ receiver).

Aristotle defines rhetoric as ‘the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion’ (350 bce: Rhetoric 1.2.1). For Aristotle, rhetoric leverages logos (logic and reason), pathos (appeals to emotion) and ethos (character, ethics) to persuade audiences. (Soules, 2015)

Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion. (Rhetoric, Aristotle, Translated by W. Rhys Roberts) 

The translation further observes that "Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker; the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind; the third on the proof, or apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech itself. Persuasion is achieved by the speaker’s personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible.  (Rhetoric, Aristotle, Translated by W. Rhys Roberts) Aristotle strongly believed that the Speaker, his reasoning and his personality did create an impact on the Audience in the case of persuasion.

This model was to propagate an idea or persuade the audience. It emphasised on the speaker and the capacity to convey the message in a skilful manner to an audience. It is said that Quintillian, a roman educator (CA 35-95 A.D.), built up on this model of Aristotle in his institute ‘Institutio Oratoria’ which was known for its skills on advising a good speaker 'statesman' in the ancient times.

However, in today’s world scholars have observed that rhetoric can often be used for negative purposes. Marshall Soules says, “Rhetoric has a history of abuse, and in our time ‘rhetoric’ often refers dismissively to language filled with empty phrases and false sentiments. Ideally, rhetoric gives language additional interest and impact and is judged by its effectiveness. (Soules, 2015) 

Aristotle’s Model is unidirectional or linear in nature which means there is no feedback.

In the later years, based on this model of Aristotle, research scholars developed a more precise model which showed five elements and which is popularly available on many educational sites.The model showed the Speaker, the Speech which is the message, the Occasion, the Recipient Audience and the Effect the occurred in the Audience due to the Speech. These scholars were of the opinion, that for Aristotle the Effect on the Audience was an important factor as a result, just defining this model with the speaker, speech, audience concepts renders it incomplete. So, a newer version of this model was developed, which showed the concept of Effect.