THE PATHWAYS OF PASSION: ARISTOTLE, THE RHETORIC OF PASSIONS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS IN THE DISCURSIVE/ARGUMENTATIVE CONTEXT

Resumo

In book II of Rhetoric, Aristotle points that emotions cause men to change their opinions and judgments. The present study examined this matter in a contemporary perspective to trace a scheme – which it is here addressed as The Emotions’ Track – that discusses how the passions take control of the human psyche leading men to action. A rereading of the emotions (passions) in the Aristotelian corpus based the first methodological step of this study. Then, grounded on modern studies on the subject, the way in which men is affected by the passions was pondered. Finally, a scheme that points out how it is believed that the emotions in the human soul work in a discursive/argumentative context was proposed. The method leaded to the creation of The Emotions’ Track, a five-step scheme composed by: I) Availability; II) Identification; III) Psychophysical alteration; IV) Change of judgment; and V) Action. The proposition of The Emotions’ Track is expected to serve as a stimulus for the rhetoric researchers and will also constitute a shorter path in the face of the complex and unfinished understanding of the emotional universe and its consequences.