The Greeks Invented Everything

Ok so maybe they didn’t invent everything, but they certainly helped define many aspects of thought that we still use today.  

For example, I found it fascinating how much of our current system of teaching writing is based on these ancient Greek and Roman traditions. Aristotle discusses the three major types of rhetoric as being deliberative (political), forensic (legal) and epideictic (ceremonial). He discusses best practices for all of these that are still pertinent today.  One that really stuck with me was “people afflicted by sickness or poverty or love or thirst or any other unsatisfied desire are prone to anger and easily roused; especially against those who slight their present distress” (Bizzell 215). It so important to know your audience and if you are speaking to an audience full of people in poverty, it would certainly be bad form to insult the poor. Aristotle also defined the basic argumentative essay structure, although then it was applied to speeches. “A speech has two parts. You must state your case, and you must prove it…it cannot in any case have more than Introduction, Statement, Argument, and Epilogue” (240). This is basically the introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs with evidence, and conclusion format that we use every day in academia. Also, Cicero’s 5 cannons of rhetoric invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery are a major influence in modern studies of composition (Bizzell 35).

Our current US Trail system is based on the Sophist belief that knowledge relies on perception and is therefore flawed. Thus, absolutely truth is not available to human.  However, “probable knowledge” could be achieved by pitting opposing positions against one another and examining the arguments. It is very interesting to examine the different eras of Greek and Roman thought and how they dealt with the concept of truth. Plato felt that the Sophists ignored absolute truth for the sake of manipulating the truth for their own gain. This argument could be applied to today’s advertising and propaganda.

I was also surprised to learn that class struggle and how it goes hand in hand with public education is not a modern problem. As far back as 400 B.C.E aristocrats disagreed with the middle classes ability to purchase education for their children. They believed that leadership qualities came from noble birth and public education should focus on athletics and the military. It was not until Quintillian’s time around 35 C.E.  that grammar school began to be offered to indigent boys and girls. Women were also most excluded until this period as well. Women’s education was often justified by the idea that an educated mother would be a good influence on her male children. This is still reminiscent of problems in America today where the lower classes are encouraged to join the military and professions that involve women are often related to teaching or caring for children.