Zeno of Citium was once asked how dialectic (logic) differs from rhetoric. He clenched his hand and opened it again and said “in this.”
The clenching of the hand represented the compact and concise character of logic, while the opening and extension of the fingers signified the breadth of rhetorical power. With logic we seek to grasp a subject tightly like a clenched fist, while with rhetoric we offer that knowledge and wisdom to others with an “open hand.” This illustration of logic and rhetoric became popular during the Renaissance and remains fitting today.
The connection between logic and rhetoric is also revealed in the command given us in 1 Peter 3:15 to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” Here Peter expects us to explain the reason (logic) for our hope, which is logos in the Greek. Giving a defense is the realm of rhetoric. So, Peter expects us to employ the two disciplines together in our witness to others.
At Luther Classical College, students study logic and rhetoric in parallel. This semester I have the privilege of teaching both subjects to our students. In the logic class, we are studying classical logic found in the writings of Aristotle. In the rhetoric class, we discuss how this logic is applied through the art of rhetoric.
In Aristotle’s Rhetoric, he describes how an effective speaker needs to address his audience using logos (logic), pathos (emotion), and ethos (good character). So, we see that Aristotle considers logic an essential component of rhetoric. A good argument should be logical, supported by facts and evidence that appeal to reason.
In the rhetoric class we recently moved into addressing pathos and how an excellent speaker should both understand and address the emotions of his audience. In class discussion of this topic, students identified connections between rhetorical appeals to pathos and several fallacies discussed in the logic class. In the logic course we have addressed the fallacies of the appeal to fear (ad baculum), the appeal to pity (ad misericoriam), and the appeal to the populus (ad populum). Several students noted how each fallacy preys on the emotions of the audience to lead them to the wrong conclusion. These fallacies treat emotion as the justification for ignoring what is logical and embracing what feels right in the moment. Are appeals to emotion always manipulative and wrong? How are we to properly appeal to logic and emotions in our discourse as Christians?
As students at LCC are learning, God made us to be both rational and emotional beings. He gave us our emotions and our reason as good things, but both have been corrupted by sin. Rhetoric which appeals only to emotions will likely run afoul of logic and rely on manipulation to persuade. Rhetoric which employs only logic becomes merely an intellectual exercise, failing to engage an audience’s emotions and motivate them to appropriate thought or action. The goal, therefore, is to keep the two in balance. This means a good rhetorician must properly apply logic to a subject while addressing his audience in a way that enables them to grasp it in totality with both the mind and the emotions.
Modern education often treats logic and rhetoric as separate, unrelated subjects. Many colleges and universities offer them as electives, allowing students to take either, both, or neither. The result is that many students complete their formal education lacking the foundation to assess situations, subjects, and problems logically, and to communicate their views in the balanced manner previously described.
In contrast, logic and rhetoric are foundational to every course offered at Luther Classical College. In a return to an educational approach that has stood the test of time, students at LCC use logic and the Bible to evaluate the ideas and perspectives they encounter in the greatest works of Western civilization and then employ rhetoric to organize and express their thoughts in speech and writing. This is what a Lutheran classical education is all about. Engaging with the Scriptures and the best of our Western heritage to grow in faith, wisdom, and knowledge, and to prepare young men and women to navigate life in a fallen world with one hand clenched tightly to Christ, and the other hand open to share His wisdom with others.