Rhetorical patterns used by Westerners may differ from those of other cultures. Still, little is known about Nyāya, India's rhetorical methodology. This essay relates rhetorical patterns in Aristotle's enthymeme and paradeigma to Nyāya's pratijñāa (claim/promise), hetu (reason), and dṛṣṭānta (example). Though superficially similar, the Greek/Western rhetorical patterns invoke interlocking statements based in a general statement, while the Indian approach uses a dominant analogical image to connect claim and reason. Focusing on a historical interaction where a Westerner missed key elements of Indian persuasion because of his Aristotelian presuppositions about argument, the essay illustrates the crucial need to understand differing rhetorical patterns for successful cultural dialogue.
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February 2011
Research Article|
February 01 2011
Culture and Rhetorical Patterns: Mining the Rich Relations Between Aristotle's Enthymeme and Example and India's Nyāya Method
Keith Lloyd
Keith Lloyd
Kent State University Stark, 6000 Frank Avenue NW, North Canton, OH 44720, USA. kslloyd@kent.edu
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Rhetorica (2011) 29 (1): 76–105.
Citation
Keith Lloyd; Culture and Rhetorical Patterns: Mining the Rich Relations Between Aristotle's Enthymeme and Example and India's Nyāya Method. Rhetorica 1 February 2011; 29 (1): 76–105. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/RH.2011.29.1.76
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