Classical Rhetoric and Group Decision Making

Abstract

This article argues that a modification of the heuristics of classical rhetoric will facilitate both an understanding of the dynamics of group decision making and provide a systematic process for attaining consensus.This article is intended to make a single point: Classical rhetoric provides heuristic procedures for argument, which, when adapted to group decision making, aid in both interaction and problem solving. In group deliberation an individual's system for problem solving shifts to a constituent of a larger system, creating a synthetic process of a group's rationality. Normally associated with individual public discourse, classical rhetoric can be modified to aid in the resolution of problems in group communication. A modification of the heuristics of classical rhetoric within the context of group deliberation facilitates these heuristic processes and the modalities of argument. This discussion is intended to demonstrate that the potential benefits classical rhetoric can yield to group deliberation warrant further inquiry (Enos, 1981).