[In the old forum, there were two identical posts that had separate comment threads attached to them. The other thread has been merged into this thread, below.]
cvstuart 27 April, 2011 - 10:33
Great website on rhetoric! I’d like to memorize the terms on the right side of the page, but I’m not sure a memory palace is needed for learning the definitions, unless you want to remember them in order for some reason.
I think something simpler like Ed Cooke’s memrise.com techniques for remembering words would work just to learn the definitions.
For instance, the word anesis is defined on the site as “adding a concluding sentence that diminishes the effect of what has been said previously.” Anesis to me sounds like “Anacin” aspirin, so I imagine anesis as an anacin tablet relieving the pain that has gone before, which is kind of like “diminishing the effect of what has been said previously.”
I think it would also help, obviously, to know a few Greek and Latin words that make up so much of rhetorical words.
I can see using a memory palace, though, for learning the history of rhetoric, or major points or schools of rhetoric.
I’m going to try to learn a few of these a day. Thanks, this is great!
-cvstuart
Rublev 27 April, 2011 - 11:33
I’m glad you like the project.
I get what you’re saying about just using little mnemonics for each word. That wouldn’t quite get me where I’d like to go, though. Here’s what I imagine. I’m working on developing as a fiction writer, and practicing rhetorical devices is a good way to train. I’d like to carry the whole system of rhetoric with me so that when I’m driving or waiting in line (or, as the end goal, sitting down to write), I can work my way through the rhetorical options available to me, coming up with sentences of my own to practice.
Memorizing the words individually is important, but I’d like there to be an ordering principle I can internalize and “walk through” as a kind of training regimen.
Josh 27 April, 2011 - 11:53
I was thinking of grouping them like they are here:
http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Figures/Figures-Groupings.htm
That way, if I want to find a term involving “overstatement”, I could go to that area of my memory journey and find: hyperbole, auxesis, litotes, and meiosis.
By the way, there is a wiki page for the project now: Silva Rhetoricae.
Rublev 27 April, 2011 - 11:54
My first step in memorizing this has been to choose a category on the left side of the screen that seems sufficiently broad to include quite a few individual terms.
I’m starting with the three-part division of rhetoric as means of persuasion: logos, ethos, and pathos. Clicking on the left on the link “Logos” gives a page that includes “Figures of Reasoning” at the bottom. Clicking on this gives a list of strategies that appeal to the reason. There are three follow-up categories at the bottom, then: amplification, pathos, and ethos. The pathos and ethos lists are similar to the reasoning list, so there’s a pretty good start.
Looking into the “figures of amplification” list, though, gives some indication of how tricky this has been for me. That page has a bunch of individual terms, but it also has several broader classifications that it lays out. I’m not sure how I’ll approach it. It’s pretty straightforward until you get to the division/definition/comparison section. Each of those expands into a group of terms. Perhaps I’ll just memorize individual terms down each page until I get to a link that expands and then memorize the links on that page, working my way back up the tree when I’m done. I know I’ll get lost pretty quick doing it that way, though.
Is this were mind-mapping would help?
Rublev 27 April, 2011 - 12:00
I was thinking of something similar to what you’re describing, Josh. Do you think of your memory journey, then, as a path that includes spaces for multiple loci along the way? Would “overstatement” be a room with four loci.
cvstuart 27 April, 2011 - 13:07
I see what you mean now - something much more comprehensive than just learning definitions.
I like Josh’s idea of using figures of speech because it’s based on functionality.
I’m also intrigued on that page, though, by the other suggested groupings:
Groupings by rhetorical category
Groupings made by well-known authorities (authors and texts)
Figures of Grammar
I’m tempted to group according to authors and texts - for example, have Aristotle as a guide through his system; Cicero as a guide through Ad Herenium (I know, he’s not considered the author anymore, but for this purpose, he can be used). It would be in the tradition of Virgil leading Dante. I’m more inclined to be interested in the historical progression of rhetoric, so that might fit me better, although the functionality groupings would seem to me the best way to cover all the topics comprehensively.
-cvstuart
Josh 27 April, 2011 - 13:39
Rublev wrote:
Do you think of your memory journey, then, as a path that includes spaces for multiple loci along the way? Would “overstatement” be a room with four loci.
That is what I was thinking. If not a room with four loci, at least have those four images sectioned off in some way: something like police tape, or an imaginary disco superimposed over only those 4 loci, etc.
Josh 27 April, 2011 - 18:29
I’ve attached the beginnings of a mind map (Freemind format) that shows the way I was thinking of organizing it. If anyone else wants to do the same thing, we could work together on a single mind map.
Rublev 27 April, 2011 - 18:52
Wow. That’s great. There’s a lot of potential there. Is Freemind hard to learn?
Josh 27 April, 2011 - 19:14
Very simple: the “insert” button adds a new branch, and “enter” adds a new item on the same level. Right clicking brings up a menu.
Rublev 28 April, 2011 - 21:41
It’s a better start than I expected. I’m getting sold pretty quickly on this mind-map software. Thanks for introducing it.
If you use the map I just posted, you’ll find (I’m expecting to find) that things get pretty tricky when you get to the lowest nodes. It’s pretty amazing to me how far I was able to expand the thing without getting to the long lists of figures (for example, I stopped short of enumerating all the terms under the “Grouping of Figures” branch and the “Schemes/Tropes” one). That’s where it’ll get haywire, I think, seeing how much overlap there is from one part of the map to another.
But I’m excited. I think it’ll be pretty fun.
cvstuart 3 May, 2011 - 12:10
Thanks! Very nice mind map and it certainly makes it easier to place the terms in rooms and order the rooms.
-cvstuart
Josh 7 May, 2011 - 15:05
How are people doing with the memorization? I haven’t had time to start yet, because things have been busy with work, and I’m headed to Europe next week. Does the mind map contain all of the terms to be memorized? If not, I could add some more.
SirBMR 3 November, 2011 - 17:54
This is cool as hell!
Any updates on your mind maps? I want to start learning it pronto! 
Josh 3 November, 2011 - 19:31
I haven’t updated my mind map. I think Rublev’s has more content. If you make any progress on the mind map, please upload your .mm file.
Groat 7 November, 2011 - 10:55
Not sure if this will help any of you, but when I’m memorizing things from a mind map and two concepts are connected but their loci are far apart I use portals from the game portal to connect the two. It works fairly well for me and helps me get between two points that may be on opposite sides of my memory palace
Josh 9 November, 2011 - 19:17
I had to look that up…
It looks like a great game for developing the ability to think spatially.
Groat 9 November, 2011 - 19:36
One note though. To make sure it’s embedded in your mind when you travel between the portals I’d advise you to jump back and forth between the two points a good 5 times and seeing the start and end points clearly. It’s crucial to repeat the portal jumping just to make it clear which two points are connected
Jetes2112 9 February, 2012 - 19:23
Hello everyone,
I’d like to know what progress all of you have made with the forest of rhetoric? Personally, I am finishing the first set of 17 definitions within the Figure of Reasoning “Logos”, along with their corresponding examples (and some additional ones from this website http://rhetfig.appspot.com/ which combines several sources including the silva rhetorica site into its database). Pretty soon, I’ll be moving onto Ethos and Pathos, and then I’ll be off to tackle the five enormous pillars of rhetoric!
Regards,
Jetes
Josh 19 February, 2012 - 14:58
I’ve started arranging them by group on the Silva Rhetoricae wiki page.
Once that bulleted list is complete, I should be able to import it right into Freemind to create the full mindmap.
Note: here are the links to the mindmap files:
