Philosophies
Richard Broxton Onians (1899 - 1986) was a classicist who published The Origins of European Thought: About the Body, the Mind, the Soul, the World, Time and Fate in 1951.
In his etymological study of the word Kairos, he traced the primary root back to the ancient Greek affinity for archery and interestingly, the art of weaving. His analysis suggested that kairos is the moment an arrow may be fired with a sufficient amount of force needed to penetrate a target. In the art of weaving, kairos is the moment in which the shuttle could be passed through threads on the loom. Both illustrations show an exact choice that needs to be made.
- Modern rhetoric dictates that “what is said must be said at the right time. It is is opportune, spontaneous, or timely." And it encourages creativity, which is necessary to adapt to unforeseen obstacles and opinions that can alter the opportune or appropriate moment.
- Kairos" (used 86 times in the New Testament) refers to an opportune time, a "moment" or a "season" such as "harvest time.”
- In Greek mythology, Kairos, the youngest child of Zeus, was the god of opportunity. According to Diogenes, the philosopher Protagoras was the first to expound the importance of the "right moment" in classical rhetoric. (Richard Nordqvist)
Rhetoric
The modes of persuasion, or rhetorical appeals, are devices in rhetoric that classify the speaker's or writer’s appeal to the audience. Along with ethos, pathos, and logos, kairos is a mode of persuasion.
- Ethos is an appeal to the authority or credibility of the presenter.
- Pathos is an appeal to the audience’s emotions. The terms sympathy, pathetic, and empathy are derived from it.
- Logos is logical appeal or the simulation of it, and the term logic is derived from it. It is normally used to describe facts and figures that support the writer’s claims or thesis.
- Kairos is the time and place a speaker or writer uses to persuade the audience to act. Most commonly, it is used to create pressure. This makes it ideal for speaking up on meaningful matters or for taking actions that impact change.
Kairos is very important in Aristotle's scheme of rhetoric. Kairos is, for Aristotle, the time and space context in which the proof will be delivered. Kairos stands alongside other contextual elements of rhetoric: the audience, those who will receive the proof; and to prepon, which is the style with which the orator clothes the proof.
Kairos in the Sophistic context is based on the thought that speech must happen at a certain time in order for it to be most effective. If rhetoric is to be meaningful and successful, it must be presented at the right moment, or else it will not have the same impact on the members of the audience.
Kairos, in modern rhetoric, dictates that what is said must be said at the right time.
Philosophy
The Ancient Pythagoreans thought Kairos to be one of the most fundamental laws of the universe. Kairos pieced together the dualistic ways of the universe. Empedocles, a philosopher, connected kairos to the principle of opposites and harmony. From there it transcended to the principle of conflict and resolution.
Science
In scientific research and writing, the connotation rests on the spatial aspect of kairos, or the creation of "an opening," which can be created by the writer and discovered by the reader. This opening is the opportune time, or the kairos moment. Kairos emphasizes change and that is a key component in science. Hippocrates stated, however, that not every opening is an opportunity. This nicely ties in the rhetoric definition of the moment needing to be precisely right.
Kairos, after all this analysis, can be summed up simply as the right and perfect moment for expressing meaningful words or taking meaningful action. This could impact change for you, for your friends, or for the world.
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