The History of Communication- Definitional

Definitional:
Effective communication began to take shape in the fifth century B.C. when the Greeks created the adversary system. This system was a way of working through problems with others without using physical violence. More specifically, the adversary system of government had a guilty until proven innocent philosophy. The Athenians believed that most everything in their lives was predetermined, so this new way of thinking was hard to accept. This system promoted change in the way that it pushed the citizens to resist what they found untrue, and fight for their rights.
If you could not communicate in an effective manor chances were you would lose most of your verbal battles. This is where sophists came into play. Sophists were the first teachers of communication. They specialized in the studies of rhetoric, communication, and persuasion. A few famous sophists include: Arête, Hippias, Protagoras, Gorgias, Aristotle, and Plato. Arête focused on what the audience brought to the table- attitude and knowledge- in order to form a convincing and direct dialogue. Hippias taught his students that it was imperative to be broadly knowledgeable about their topic so that they could expand or defend their thoughts. Protagoras coined the concept that two sides can have a valid argument, but one side will have a stronger argument. Gorgias wanted people to know that public speaking can excite or “move” a crowd. These men molded our thoughts on communication greatly, but Plato and Aristotle heightened the idea of communication by placing all pre conceived notions of this study together. Plato believed that individuals would uncover fact, and that truth was an ideal for academic scholarship. Aristotle was an empiricist and affirmed that we can make certain claims as long as they are tied to universal principles. Unlike Plato, Aristotle believed that rhetoric could be used positively, but he also accepted that it could be used negatively too. Sophists during this time tended to gain poor reputations because words can be used to deceive.
Aristotle taught his students three broad ideas about oratory and persuasion. Most importantly though, he wanted people to understand that communication has a purpose; we do not speak unless we have something to say. He said that there are three types of oratory: forensics (looking at the past to advocate justice), deliberative (the influence of future action), and epideictic (celebratory). He also contended that persuasion is accomplished through the three appeals of ethos (credibility), logos (logic), and pathos (emotion). To be an effective communicator we must generate ideas, organize them, use language appropriate to the occasion, be knowledgeable on the topic, and deliver the speech in a convincing way. As you can see, the ideas above were created and broadened over time emphasizing the idea that competent communication has been polished over hundreds of years.
The concept of rhetoric in Egypt and Rome was like gold. Not many people wanted to literally learn and practice the art of communication but rather they just wanted to house the knowledge. Alexander the Great created a library to house all the communication expertise. When the library of Alexandria was raided by the Christian Crusaders it started a chain reaction. People would raid other countries libraries so that they could attain this knowledge and translate the ideas so that their people would understand them. This is a very interesting and troubling thought because it created conflict, but without it, communication would not have been changed and evolved so abundantly. The Romans realized that rhetoric could be used to construct or change laws and that is why the country is known for organization and discipline. Three important people during this time period were Quintilian, Aros and Cicero. Aros did not just house knowledge of communication, but he actually studied it further and expanded our analysis of the audience. Cicero contrived that oratory had three objectives- to instruct, to please, and to win over. Quintilian, “developed a detailed theory of rhetoric” into what is now called the “five canons or rhetoric”. (17) As the Roman Catholic Church became the center of knowledge in the fourth and fifth century, people started to spiritually develop their relationship with God. As Europe was declining, the Moors became the ones that possessed a considerable knowledge, “that Christian Europeans lacked.” (19) When Johann Gutenberg created a printing press, books became attainable to all people. This allowed Renaissance scholars to write books in their native languages and print them so that they were widely available.
During the enlightenment period, Francis Bacon performed a scientific study of gestures which started the concept of nonverbal communication. John Locke also famously called language, “the great instrument, the Tye of society” at the time. (24)George Campbell, Hugh Blair, and Richard Whately made significant contributions to the study of rhetoric which would eventually lead to the development of communication programs in American Universities. Elocution was developed after democracy and the rhetoric of England and the new world. Thomas Sheridan taught the lower class how to present their opinions so that they could promote their own justice to the higher class. The lower class would need to develop strong forms of reason, deliver their thoughts sincerely, and present a nice argument.
All of these contributions seem rather overwhelming when broken down by time period. Without all of these additions, our society would be socially inept. As the need to learn to communicate effectively grows, schools will hire more educators and develop departments to, “better conduct research and teach a growing student population.” (24)
Bibliography
Dues, Michael, & Brown, Mary (2004). Boxing Plato's Shadow- An Introduction to the Study of Human Communication. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill.