Post #9: Extrinsic Proofs, Thomas Wilson, and Margaret Fell

At the beginning of the semester Aristotle introduced us to two types of proofs: intrinsic, and extrinsic. Extrinsic proofs are those that are not made up, but instead found in the rhetorical situation. Examples of this include data, facts, testimony, and witnesses. However, according to Cicero, extrinsic proofs relied upon the authority that from which they came. We find extrinsic proofs in the form of politics and law. This type of proof serves as key to all rhetoric because it provides the audience with real proof that is derived from the case at hand.

Thomas Wilson was a renaissance rhetorician whose view of dialectics was very similar to that of Aristotle's. The only difference that was clearly marked in Wilson's work, was that dialectic could achieve logic, and that rhetoric was subordinate. In Wilson's "The Arte of Rhetoric," the process of finding and developing arguments was discussed, with an emphasis on law and politics. Wilson put special emphasis on the audience's attention. To him, style was key in depicting ethical appeal. This can be seen in Wilson's personal work, because instead of sticking to Latin, he chooses to write in English, showing a real connection with rhetoric. Wilson also saw language as a means of social mobility.

A key figure in renaissance rhetoric was Margaret Fell. She believed that the time period provided better conditions for women, especially in education. Educational opportunities increased for women through the means of the Protestant church. Co-ed education was inducted to society, emphasizing that all Protestants, regardless of gender, needed to write religious texts. This practice of co-ed education was not for the women to question their positions through the means provided, but rather to make them into better Christians. Margaret Fell was a Quaker convert. And like other Quakers, such women were the first to publicly speak on issues. She was known as an architect of the Quaker faith, supporting women's egalitarian position in society, and their promotion of this in the Quaker faith. Fell believed that she didn't need formal rhetorical training because she was speaking the word of God.