The Ancient Art of Thinking For Yourself: The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times
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- Create Date：2024-03-28 13:20:44
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Robin Reames
- ISBN：1541603974
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Summary
How rhetoric—the art of persuasion—can help us navigate an age of misinformation， conspiracy theories， and political acrimony
The discipline of rhetoric was the keystone of Western education for over two thousand years。 Only recently has its perceived importance faded。
In this book， renowned rhetorical scholar Robin Reames argues that， in today’s polarized political climate， we should all care deeply about learning rhetoric。 Drawing on examples ranging from the destructive ancient Greek demagogue Alcibiades to modern-day conspiracists like Alex Jones， Reames breaks down the major techniques of rhetoric， pulling back the curtain on how politicians， journalists， and “journalists” convince us to believe what we believe—and to talk， vote， and act accordingly。 Understanding these techniques helps us avoid being manipulated by authority figures who don’t have our best interests at heart。 It also grants us rare insight into the values that shape our own beliefs。 Learning rhetoric， Reames argues， doesn’t teach us what to think but how to think—allowing us to understand our own and others’ ideological commitments in a completely new way。
Thoughtful， nuanced， and leavened with dry humor， The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself offers an antidote to our polarized， post-truth world。
The discipline of rhetoric was the keystone of Western education for over two thousand years。 Only recently has its perceived importance faded。
In this book， renowned rhetorical scholar Robin Reames argues that， in today’s polarized political climate， we should all care deeply about learning rhetoric。 Drawing on examples ranging from the destructive ancient Greek demagogue Alcibiades to modern-day conspiracists like Alex Jones， Reames breaks down the major techniques of rhetoric， pulling back the curtain on how politicians， journalists， and “journalists” convince us to believe what we believe—and to talk， vote， and act accordingly。 Understanding these techniques helps us avoid being manipulated by authority figures who don’t have our best interests at heart。 It also grants us rare insight into the values that shape our own beliefs。 Learning rhetoric， Reames argues， doesn’t teach us what to think but how to think—allowing us to understand our own and others’ ideological commitments in a completely new way。
Thoughtful， nuanced， and leavened with dry humor， The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself offers an antidote to our polarized， post-truth world。
Reviews
Jessica
，
Maybe I'm not the right person to be saying this since my degree is in rhetoric， but Reames's The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself makes the subject both approachable and applicable。 Without trying to sway readers' views herself， she clearly outlines a variety of persuasive （and often underhand） tactics that we all fall for from time to time。 With discussion questions and "digging deeper" resources for each chapter and "The Rhetorical Thinker's Cheat Sheet" conveniently located in the back， Maybe I'm not the right person to be saying this since my degree is in rhetoric， but Reames's The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself makes the subject both approachable and applicable。 Without trying to sway readers' views herself， she clearly outlines a variety of persuasive （and often underhand） tactics that we all fall for from time to time。 With discussion questions and "digging deeper" resources for each chapter and "The Rhetorical Thinker's Cheat Sheet" conveniently located in the back， this book would be excellent for individual or small group use。[I received an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review。] 。。。more
Andrea Wenger
，
In today’s world of misinformation and political discord， understanding rhetoric—the art of persuasion—is crucial。 This book examines the tactics used by politicians， journalists， and pundits from ancient demagogues to modern conspiracists to shape our beliefs and actions。 By uncovering these techniques， we can protect ourselves from manipulation by those who don’t have our best interests at heart。 This is a fascinating and well-written book， sometimes disturbing but always eye-opening。 Thanks， In today’s world of misinformation and political discord， understanding rhetoric—the art of persuasion—is crucial。 This book examines the tactics used by politicians， journalists， and pundits from ancient demagogues to modern conspiracists to shape our beliefs and actions。 By uncovering these techniques， we can protect ourselves from manipulation by those who don’t have our best interests at heart。 This is a fascinating and well-written book， sometimes disturbing but always eye-opening。 Thanks， NetGalley， for the ARC I received。 This is my honest and voluntary review。 。。。more
Arevik Heboyan
，
in the era of all-consuming multi-media persuasion， one has to learn to filter information and think about information fed to him/her， and the author gives a very good introduction to the art of rhetorics， even for someone who is not well-versed in classical literature of thinking and philosophical aspect of the art of thinking。
Brandon Westlake
，
Ancient thinkers can still be influential today。 Stoicism is in vogue these days， but Robin Reames makes the case that we can look to the ancients for help with rhetoric。 Using Aristotle to consider media， for example， gives us a bit more insight into how people work to adapt their message to their audience。 There's also a decent amount of logic and Reames does a good job of making it accessible to someone who may never have been exposed to it before。 What was really helpful was the section at t Ancient thinkers can still be influential today。 Stoicism is in vogue these days， but Robin Reames makes the case that we can look to the ancients for help with rhetoric。 Using Aristotle to consider media， for example， gives us a bit more insight into how people work to adapt their message to their audience。 There's also a decent amount of logic and Reames does a good job of making it accessible to someone who may never have been exposed to it before。 What was really helpful was the section at the back， useful for further exploration and discussion questions。 These are beneficial for groups or for individual reflection。 The chart she includes is a great snapshot of all of the criticism she encourages people to employ。 Overall， this is a great work that will make philosophical thinking fun and useful for people who may not have found it so in the past， or， may not know where to begin。 。。。more
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the ancient art of thinking for yourself the power of rhetoric in polarized times