The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself

"For most of the 2,000-plus years since its foundation as a discipline by ancient Greek thinkers, rhetoric-the art of using language to persuade-was a keystone of a Western education. But in the early 20th century, studying rhetoric fell out of fashion. In The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself, Robin Reames, one of the world's leading scholars of rhetoric, argues that it's high time to bring it back. Drawing on examples ranging from the Sophist Alcibiades, whose speeches in favor of war led ancient Athens to destruction and defeat, 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 vote and act accordingly. Understanding these techniques helps us avoid being manipulated by modern-day sophists who don't have our best interests at heart. But it also grants us rare insight into our own beliefs, and the values that shape them. Learning rhetoric, she argues, doesn't teach what to think but how to think - allowing us to understand our ideological commitments, and those of others, 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"--