Things I have learned from this class

I have learned quite a bit this semester. First, I must agree with Rebekah that I have learned to blog. I am a technological idiot but from this class I have learned a great deal about how to blog and how to produce powerpoints and download videos. This sounds simple enough but trust me, for me this is a major improvement. Also, I ordered my first book from Amazon for the class.
In addition to these technological advancements, I have also learned a great deal about rhetoric. I have tried to master a definition of rhetoric; however, I have been unable to pinpoint one particular definition that satisfies all the parts that I learned. While I have been unable to pinpoint one particular definition, I have learned to identify rhetoric when it is shown to me. For this matter, I have learned that rhetoric is shown in almost everything. I have learned the extent to which rhetoric has invaded my life; it is evident on TV, in speeches, articles, essays, and even in everyday speech between friends. Even something as simple as “Let’s go to dinner” is rhetoric. First, you are trying to convince your friend that you are hungry and then you will have to convince them of where you want to eat and why that place in better than another place.
In realizing how rhetoric affects every aspect of life; I have also realized that I will need to be able to identify the parts of rhetoric so that I can better decipher the rhetoric that surrounds me. From this class, I have learned of logos, ethos, and pathos. I have learned that logos is the most important followed by ethos and lastly pathos. However, I have seen that most rhetoric is in the form of pathos and therefore I should be skeptical of the logos which occupies the pathos.
From this class, I have also learned to distinguish the telos of an argument. This is going to be very important to me for several reasons. First, I am planning to become a lawyer and the use of telos is very important. It will be vital that I am able to distinguish the telos of the opposite side and that I am able to either expose or disguise (not that a lawyer would ever be sneaky) my telos in the proper way. Also, the understanding of telos is important for everyday life so that one can identify the true overall purpose of the rhetoric by which they are being affected.
I have also learned the difference between rhetoric that is epistemic and that which is not. I know that there are differing schools of whether rhetoric is epistemic or not; however, I believe that it can be either. Some types of rhetoric can be epistemic either in the finding or presenting process and other types are not epistemic at all.
Overall, this class has helped me to learn a great deal about the world that surrounds me and how that world affects me. I have learned how to navigate through others’ rhetoric and how to better produce my own.