Kairos
Kairos (pronounced “KAI-ros”) is an ancient Greek term that translates in the literal sense to “time,” “timing,” or “timeliness.” Rhetorically, however, kairos has a complex and nuanced meaning. Kairos refers to the timing of something, but specifically, the right moment for something to occur. In rhetoric and communication studies, kairos represents situationally appropriate statements—in other words, when a specific statement is delivered at the perfect time.
Kairos is not a typical rhetorical device and does not function in the same way as many other rhetorical techniques. The main reason for this is because it is subjective in nature. It is not universally understood or agreed upon when is the “right” timing of something. Kairos is shaped by culture and society. Therefore, popular opinion might declare something as the “right” time but it is impossible to declare something as unanimously understood as timely. In the same way as calling something appropriate, one may call something kariotic, but that will always be a subjective statement at its core. While the concept of kairos is incredibly broad, it is also nearly impossible to instruct. There is a uniqueness and unpredictability in each occasion, thus making it difficult to teach, plan ahead, or lay out a theory for it. Since society understanding of situations changes over time, a theory that reflects on past discourses to determine future ones can be difficult to construct. Therefore, kairos can be seen as model of “improvisation” (Sipiora & Baumlin, 2002).
Kairos carried multiple meanings in classical rhetorical theory, such as symmetry, propriety, occasion, due measure, fitness, tact, decorum, convenience, proportion, fruit, profit, and wise moderation. In Ancient Greece, the concept of timeliness (kairos) was mentioned by many prominent figures such as Pindar, Theognis, Solon, the Seven Sages, Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, Menander, Pythagorus” and many sophists such as Protagoras and Gorgias (Sipiora & Baumlin, 2002).
In Ancient Greece, there were actually two notable terms that referred to time: kairos and chronos. Rhetoricians and philosophers made an important distinction between the two, which ultimately came down to defining them in terms of subjectivity versus objectivity, or the qualitative versus the quantitative. As rhetorician John E. Smith said, “Kairos is the right or opportune time to do something…this aspect of time is to be distinguished from chronos….which is the fundamental concept of time as measure, the quantity of duration, the length of periodicity, the age of an object or artifact, or the rate of acceleration” (Sipiora & Baumlin, 2002). While chronos refers to the literal time of something, which is objective, kairos refers to the timeliness of something, which is subjective.
Significant rhetorical figures in the “Golden Age” of Greece employed kairos in many of their theories and concepts, such as Isocrates and Aristotle. Isocrates, one of the most influential Greek rhetoricians, structured his rhetorical paideia (educational structure) on the principle of kairos. The ultimate goal of his paideia was to “serve the public good” in multiple arenas, including public (such as in politics) and private (such as interpersonal conversation) discourse. According to Isocrates, once his students master certain rhetorical strategies such as invention and style then they will be socially responsible citizens; his program stresses pragmatic ethics (Sipiora & Baumlin, 2002).
Isocrates believed that kairos played a major role in ethical rhetoric, as kairos focuses on the true and relevant circumstances at hand. Isocrates believed that a properly trained rhetor is able to modify their discourse “according to circumstances and to meet the specific exigencies of each rhetorical situation” (Sipiora & Baumlin, 2002) since each one involves a unique set of circumstances. He believed that oratory is only successful or good if it properly fits the occasion. Therefore, Isocratean rhetoric stresses the importance of rhetoric that is reflective of a particular moment or issue rather than universal concepts or ideals, which is what’s typically understood as a cornerstone of rhetoric and philosophy. Isocrates, instead, believed that a rhetor should be able to apply rhetorical ideals to any situation, and thus, a good rhetor must have and use kairos.
Another influential rhetorician and philosopher who wove kairos into his theories was Aristotle. To Aristotle, rhetoric’s function “is not so much to persuade as to find out in each case the existing means of persuasion…Rhetoric then may be defined as the faculty of discovering the possible means of persuasion in reference to any subject whatever,” (Kinneavy & Eskin, 2000). Any subject whatever, in this case, refers to the “issue of the individual case" (Kinneavy & Eskin, 2000). As one theorist mentions, “this definition emphasizes the nature of the rhetorical act: it applies the rules of the art of rhetoric to the particular situation at issue” (Kinneavy & Eskin, 2000). Aristotle identified kairos as an important feature for assessing effective persuasion during a rhetorical act, which is not domain specific.
Kairos not only plays a major role in understanding persuasion according to Aristotle, but also is key to the understanding of rhetoric in general. Specifically, kairos plays a role in the taxonomy of his rhetorical principles. In legal (judicial) rhetoric, "kairos has a clear relation to the legal concept of equity, which Aristotle defines as justice that goes beyond the written law” (Kinneavy & Eskin, 2000).To Aristotle, the law may only be considered just if it takes the specific and timely circumstances into consideration. This, in a nutshell, is kairos. Therefore, there are strong ties between ethics, law, and kairos. This idea of the importance of context in regards to law is a fundamental piece of Aristotle’s theory of law and justice. To further clarify this concept, rhetoric scholar James Kinneavy writes, “it is only in a particular case toward a particular individual at a particular time that true legal justice can be found—when kairos occurs” (Kinneavy & Eskin, 2000). Kairos has been influential in multiple areas of rhetorical studies. In deliberative rhetoric, for example, aristotle says that the “the orator must argue for whatever reason does assign to each individual cases,” (Sipiora & Baumlin, 2002). In other words, all arguments must focus on whatever is appropriate for present circumstances, even if what’s being discussed is a future event (Kinneavy & Eskin, 2000). Kairos is therefore operative in multiple forms of classical rhetoric.
Kairos also plays a major role in Aristotle’s rhetorical proofs of ethos, pathos, and logos, which are key concepts in rhetorical studies. The ethical argument refers to the character of the speaker. According to Aristotle, someone with a good character has good sense, and thus, a good sense of appropriateness. In other words, for someone to effectively employ ethos in an argument, they must also employ kairos. In terms of the pathetic argument (employing pathos), which refers to the emotional appeal, Aristotle also refers to the importance of kairos here. He writes, “and each of them may be divided under three heads; for instance, in regard to anger, the disposition of mind which makes men angry, the persons with whom they are usually angry, and the occasions which give rise to anger” (Sipiora & Baumlin, 2002). These “occasions” refer to specific times and instances-- timeliness of emotions, and thus, kairos. Regarding the logical argument (logos), the appeal is entirely based upon taking into account the individual circumstances of a case, and then coming to a suitable conclusion. Within these individual circumstances, the notion of time matters, as when an event happens plays a major role in meaning making and defining that event. Situational contexts matter. Overall, kairos is woven consistently—yet in many forms—throughout Aristotle’s rhetorical proofs. These proofs, which had a significant influence on the development of the art of rhetoric, still exist today as a lens through which rhetoric can be viewed. They are understood as fundamental cornerstones to rhetoric, so they (and kairos) are enormously important to the field.
While kairos is a fundamental cornerstone of classical rhetorical theory, it’s importance in rhetoric is just as relevant today. As speeches and statements are more effective when they properly employ ethos, pathos, and logos, they only truly succeed when they are considered appropriate for the occasion. Kairos, though rarely referenced literally today, is never hard to find in public statements and speeches. A modern example of when kairos was effectively employed was when President George W. Bush gave a speech at Ground Zero, three days after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. He delivered a speech that focused on strength, unity, and patriotism, which was received by audiences as an antidote to the vulnerability, division, and discord that such an attack was designed to symbolize, his Ground Zero speech is remembered in part for its timeliness; this is kairos in action.
Bush delivering a speech at ground zero (credit: Bob Beckwith).
Shifts in technology are changing how scholars can analyze kairos. The timing of messages has changed due to technological advancements; messages can be sent and received almost instantly to anyone through new technologies such as smartphones. When a major event occurs, the rest of the world knows within minutes thanks to social media. Tech and media change the way we send messages, but also change the way kairos functions. This poses new questions for the field such as us to how kairos’ role has changed in terms of these new technological advancements. In this changing landscape, is it a whole new world to see how kairos has changed in terms of those changes? We can use kairos to understand our current moment. What is considered appropriate timing if messages are sent instantly? According to Isocrates and Aristotle, there always exists a perfect time to say something. How we assess timing or kairos is changing and offers exciting new avenues of inquiry for the field.
Works Cited
Kairos: Definition and Examples. (2017, October 02). Retrieved from https://literaryterms.net/kairos/
Kinneavy, J. and Eskin, C. (2000) Kairos in Aristotle’s Rhetoric. Sage Journals, 17(3) 432-444. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088300017003005
Logos, Ethos, Pathos, Kairos. University of Louisville Writing Center. Retrieved from https://louisville.edu/writingcenter/for-students-1/handouts-and-resources/handouts-1/logos-ethos-pathos-kairos
Rutter, J. (2004). Resurrecting Gorgias: The sophistic specter haunting rhetorical theory. Review of Communication, 4(1-2), 57-62. doi:10.1080/1535859042000268778
Sipiora, P., & Baumlin, J. S. (2002). Rhetoric and kairos: Essays in history, theory, and praxis. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Sullivan, J. (1992). Kairos and the rhetoric of belief. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 78(3), 317-333. doi:10.1080/00335639209383999