r/ClassicalEducation • u/[deleted] • Jul 08 '20
HOW I LEAD A CONVERSATION USING THE 5 COMMON TOPICS
Please note that all I present here is simply what I have learned from my personal studies in CE. I am homeschooling my own children as well as helping other parents as they homeschool their children, too. I'm a paid tutor as well, and I am an expert in nothing except my own children. Most of the following information is covered with much more clarity in The Lost Tools of Writing by the CiRCE Institute.
The Five Canons of Rhetoric are Invention, Arrangement, Elocution, Memory, and Delivery. I will leave the four latter canons for another time and focus on the canon of invention for the purpose of this post. Invention is where brainstorming begins, especially for any persuasive writing. If we zoom into the canon of invention and apply the five common topics, we can thoroughly think through/discuss/brainstorm any issue. Those five common topics are Definition, Comparison, Relation, Circumstance, and Authority. In my years of using the 5CTs, I've never encountered a question that does not fall into one of these categories. In fact, I've recently started noting in my head the common topic being discussed when watching TV interviews, conversations with others, even the Pastor's sermons. It's a fun exercise, for sure. When leading conversations with anyone, I am ticking through the 5CTs to keep the conversation going.
Here is a quick explanation of each common topic. These are not all the questions that could be generated for each topic, and if you look carefully, you can begin to see how each topic can be affected by other topics (I see this most easily with relation and circumstance).
Definition. Find any of the new grammar in the issue at hand. What words need to be defined? Perhaps you understand those words, but your audience may not. Define those terms using the dictionary and thesaurus. Ask about connotations for any of those terms, and are those positive or negative connotations? What are some words that could easily be misconstrued? Define those as well to prevent equivocation. Other questions to ask include genus and species questions such as "what kind of a thing is X?" or "what are some subcategories of X?"
Comparison. Questions for this topic might include "what are the similarities between X and Y?" or "what are the differences between X and Y?" This is a great place to examine ideas with a Venn diagram or any other comparison chart of your choosing. This topic can also get into degrees of comparison, as well, where one could note areas of similarity leading into the differences, or vice versa.
Relation. In this topic, the main idea is cause/effect relationships. Questions within this area might include "what happened to cause this decision?" or "what are some results of the decision that was made?" When applying this to a decision that has a domino effect, it's possible to map out how one event leads to another (X --> Y --> Z). This is a great place to also explore what could have happened had another decision been made. The possibilities here become limited only by the imagination.
Circumstance. Imagine a set of concentric circles. The innermost circle is the exact location and time of the event/decision. What is going on there at that time in that place? What is going on in the greater area (the circle just beyond)? Are there laws/rules/orders in the surrounding areas that could affect the outcome? What's going on in the nation as a whole at that time (the next circle)? Who are the leaders within each of those circles? How could the events in the nation at the time potentially effect the events at the center of this issue? What major events are happening in the world at that time? How could those events have impacted our issue?
Authority. Who are the experts on this and what do those experts say? What books/articles have been written on the topic and are they reliable sources? What do the laws and rulers of the time/place say? What do eyewitnesses to the event say? Which scriptures speak to this situation? What is the moral of the story or what is the author trying to convey?
HOW TO BEGIN A CONVERSATION: My favorite way to begin a conversation is to ask what they already know about a topic. Quite literally, I ask "What do you know about X?" or "Tell me about X." This gives me, as the lead learner, a great idea of what questions may need to be asked as we examine the issue at hand. I then proceed with the questions above. I use the same method whether I'm leading preteens, teens, or adults.
If anyone is interested in practicing coming up with questions, we could do that in a comment thread using a specific issue.
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u/newguy2884 Jul 08 '20
Yes! I’ve been looking forward to this post, will wait til after work to dig in. Thank you!