Eunoia

<i>Eunoia</i>

Eunoia

Component of rhetoric

In rhetoric, eunoia (Ancient Greek: εὔνοιᾰ, romanized: eúnoia, lit. 'well mind; beautiful thinking')[1] is the good will that speakers cultivate between themselves and their audiences, a condition of receptivity.[2] In Book VIII of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle uses the term to refer to the kind and benevolent feelings of good will a spouse has which form the basis for the ethical foundation of human life.[3] Cicero translates εὔνοιᾰ with the Latin word benevolentia.[4]

For the book by Christian Bök, see Eunoia (book). For the school, see Eunoia Junior College.

It is also a rarely used medical term referring to a state of normal mental health.[5] Eunoia is the shortest English word containing all five main vowel graphemes.[1]

See also

  • Iouea, a similarly short word with all the vowels.

References

  1. [1]
    "Beautiful vowels". Today (BBC Radio 4). BBC. 30 October 2008. Eunoia is the shortest word in English containing all five vowels - and it means "beautiful thought". It is also the title of Canadian poet Christian Bok's book of fiction in which each chapter uses only one vowel.
  2. [2]
    Garver, Eugene (1994). Aristotle's Rhetoric: An Art of Character. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 112. ISBN 9780226284255.
  3. [3]
    "The Family In Aristotle". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  4. [4]
    Gloria Vivenza, "Classical Roots of Benevolence in Economic Thought," Ancient Economic Thought (Routledge, 1997) pp. 198–199, 204–208 online; Cicero's influence on patristic usage, Carolinne White, Christian Friendship in the Fourth Century (Cambridge University Press, 1992, 2002), pp. 16–17 online, 32, and p. 255, note 13.
  5. [5]
    Definition: eunoia from Online Medical Dictionary
  6. [6]
    Davis, Pete (2012). "Invalids discography". Bandcamp. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  7. [7]
    There’s going to be a new junior college called Eunoia; here’s how to pronounce it
  8. [8]
    "What kinda weird school name is this la sial?!". Archived from the original on 2016-01-04. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  9. [9]
    Billlie | 'EUNOIA' M/V
  • The dictionary definition of eunoia at Wiktionary


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