The Common Topics
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In classical rhetoric, the Common Topics (koinoi topoi)were a short list of four traditional topics regarded as suitable to structure an argument.[citation needed]
In Aristotle's Rhetoric, the common topics are discussed in Book II.[1] They are generally considered to be heuristic.[1]
Four traditional topics
[edit]- Past Fact (Circumstance)
- Possible/Impossible (Possibility)
- Future Fact (Circumstance)
- Greater/Lesser (Comparison)
Expanded list of topics
[edit]Edward P.J. Corbett and Robert J. Connors expanded the list in their 1971 book Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student to include:
- Definition
- genus / division / species
- etymology
- description
- definition
- example
- synonyms
- Comparison
- similarity
- difference
- degree
- Circumstance
- cause and effect
- timing
- Relationship
- contraries
- exclusion
- Testimony
- statistics
- maxims
- law
- precedents
- personal example
- historical example
- authoritative quotes
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Quandahl, Ellen (1986). "Aristotle's Rhetoric: Reinterpreting Invention". Rhetoric Review. 4 (2): 128–137. doi:10.1080/07350198609359115. JSTOR 466031.