It's time to put a little post so I can get back into the swing of things.  Some of the things that have been bothering me lately is that of my project.  I feel that looking at the Haditha massacre (Northern Iraq) and the rhetoric that surrounds it is appalling.  But when I go back to all the readings that we are doing within the class we get into depth with rhetoric.  I feel myself going back to the simplistic parts of rhetoric such as the cannons of rhetoric pathos, logos, ethos.  Just simple things, that if one of these are used right than one (a person) can be able to persuade someone.  Such as in the time of war so one can stay alive.

Where I get a little distraught or even confused is rhetoric used within the medical field.  When reading "Thucydides and the Plague in Athens" I began to think about the great things that rhetoric could provide, but can also be used as a monster to steer people wrong.  I am just pondering on these ideas because one must wonder which is the greater of the two evils.  

While reading chapter 11 about pleasure I would have to say that Aristotle had an outlook at how everything is pleasurable(in the soul if I understood right).  No matter what kind of sensible feeling that you would get there is pleasure involved.  I look at this most because during battles that there is much pain going on, but in the end pleasure will follow.  

I just cannot look at our current situation (financial)  and wonder how there would be pleasure?  Is it that we may succeed in the end and everything will be better or that we can make it through during a time of struggle.  I just have a hard time following how pain will lead to pleasure.  Many painful things that are out there will always stay in ones mind.  I understand that one has conquered a painful time, but I believe that there will always be some form of pain even if there is pleasure.

While I am sitting here reading Aristotle I believe more into the different ways of thought.  The thought that I am looking at is that of psycology and socialolgy.  If you are writing or presenting to someone than you need to know your audience.  I know that these different types of discourse (psycology and socialolgy) are fairly new, but one would have to reason that they are quite old.  This is because to put rational thought into a presentation you have look at these different factors in order to be persuasive.   

I look at this in detail because anyone can just blurt out some words or jot down some words onto paper.  If you don't take into account the social or cultural issues you will not persuade your audience.  This will lead you nowhere, which brings me back to that anyone can do this, but people that are knowledgeable into what they are presenting will let them succed towards their purpose.