Aristotle's Wisdom

      As one of the most influential Greek philosopher, Aristotle's teachings are prevalent when discussing rhetoric. Out of many of his diverse and intriguing teachings, one ideology that stuck out to me the most is that emotional intensity alters in accordance with the spatial and temporal proximity of the people or situations that arouse them.

      The textbook gave an interesting example of how, if the person who dented the car is still in the lot when its owner arrives there, the owner would focus his/her anger more intensely on the person than if he can be only diffusely angry in general with people who dent cars. Aristotle argues than if the person who dented the car happens to be someone known to the owner of the dented car, the owner's emotional response will be intensified. In other words, when the person with whom someone becomes angry is close, either physically or relationally, anger will be felt more intensely.

      According to the textbook's explanation, I can understand why having to personally know the person who deliberately harmed the owner's car will arouse more anger. This is because usually the people that we have personal relations with gains our trust and respect. However, when that person loses their reliance and deference as a friend or even an acquaintance, our faith in that person diminishes almost instantly and ultimately arouses anger in us.

      In a situation where the person intentionally sought out to hurt the other person, I comprehend their angry and upset emotional response. However, I believe that this is not the case for all situations where knowing the person will only arouse more anger.

      My family and friends are all well aware of how clumsy I am. I drop my phone roughly about five times a day and slip on the snow more than I really should. Thus, it's normal for me to knock over things- unfortunately, not all of what gets crashed doesn't belong to me. I would casually walk in and my bag would knock over one of my roommate's vases. With a sudden crash, I would stall and my roommate would assure me that all is fine and that it's just a vase. She knows me and she trusts me that I didn't do it on purpose.

      However, it's a totally different situation if a stranger who is looking for someone on the hallway crashes into our door and knocks down her mirror. The stranger would immediately apologize and even if she verbalizes that the person is forgiven, her facial expression would convey her annoyance. After the stranger's leave, she would rant about how careless some people are and of course, I couldn't say anything because...I'm that person.

      Therefore, I agree to Aristotle's argument to only a certain extent. Just because you know a person physically or relationally doesn't mean that their wrongs will arouse more anger than someone who is not known or never there. It might actually save you from situations if you do know that person as you earned their trust and respect.