Aristotle defined rhetoric as the faculty observing in any given case, the available means of persuasion. He defined dialectic as a logical method of debating issues of general interests. Though rhetoric and dialectic are both systematically, they have differences. Usually dialectic deals with philosophical questions. Dialectic also focuses on examining both sides of the question, while rhetoric focuses on one prevailing idea.
Rhetoric is very public, dealing with a large audience that doesn t have too much education.
Usually it takes place in political and judicial arenas. On the other hand, dialectic is more private, dealing with a smaller audience that is skilled. In Chapter 1 of the book, Aristotle discusses four reasons why rhetoric is useful. His first reason is because things that are true and things that are just have a natural tendency to prevail over their opposites. Second, he believes that rhetoric helps us adapt to our audience by connecting our argument to the audience s beliefs.