ny classes that he taught at the "Lyceum" and other places across GreeceThe early writings of Aristotle exhibited his admiration for his teacher, Plato. He imitated Plato's style by writing in dialogue form and using many of the same themes developed by his instructor. However, as he continued his studies at the Academy, Aristotle began to develop his own individual views which differed from those of Plato. He began to concentrate on concrete, logical concepts as opposed to Plato's more conceptual views. Although his views often clashed with those of his student, Plato continued to support Aristotle and encouraged him to promote his own theories of formal logic and rhetoric. These new ideas were expressed in his two most famous works, Organon and Rhetoric.The Organon, or "instrument", was a collection of papers that included the Categories, Prior and Posterior Analytics, the Topics, and On Interpretation. In these, Aristotle introduced formal logic which he described as the instrument of knowledge. The Rhetoric was written between 360 B.C. and 334 B.C. and dealt with the art of public speaking. This work is clearly written in response to Plato's condemnation of this art. Aristotle was primarily concerned with the rhetoric of "public address is the civic life of Greece" (Kennedy 7). He believed rhetoric could be divided into specific cases where different types of rhetoric strategies could be used. He called these strategies topoi. In Book Two of Rhetoric he lists twenty-eight common topoi. He also addresses other rhetoric elements such as style, diction, metaphor, and arrangement, but basically ignored the other canons of rhetoric. In any case, this work was the first example of psychological rhetoric ever presented.One of the most notable concepts developed by Aristotle was the notion of pisteis, or proofs. He believed that there were three means in which persuasion could be accomplished in public address. Pisteis is divided into three...
