This synopsis of themes in classical rhetoric comes from Sharon Crowley and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students (Allyn & Bacon, 1999).

Cicero's rheotical writings and the tradition of Classical Rhetoric itself capture much of what we would today call tools for critical thinking. Before approaching any topic (such as pornography on the internet), it is important to become familiar with the current state of the debate (e.g., various feminist perspectives). This initial stage constitutes "kairos." Once we see all the positions available, we can begin to see if there are any real disagreements. Where such disagreements exist, we are in a state of "stasis." Stasis theory provides a way to refine those areas of disagreement. Once we have refined our disagreements, we are in the position to "invent" an argument to support our position.

Kairos captures the debate in its full timeliness. "A rhetoric that privileges kairos….encourages a kind of ready stance, in which the rhetor is not only attuned to the history of the issue (chronos), but is also aware of the more precise turns the arguments surrounding an issue have taken and when they took these turns." (See the Dissoi Logoi or "Contervailing Arguments" of Gorgias.)

Failure to attend to the moment of kairos can lead to a failure to achieve stasis (that point upon which people agree to disagree). Probably codified by Hermagoras in the 2^nd Century BCE, this theory can be found in the works of Cicero and Quintilian among others. Through a series of four questions, stasis theory casts light on the kind of disagreement at issue (e.g., "Should pornography on the internet be censored?") by refining the points of the precise disagreement:

Each stasis question can in turn be refined and further analyzed.

For Cicero, stasis stochasmos (Conjecture) can be approached through these kinds of questions (Topics xxi, 82):

If there is agreement about the conjecture — the "facts" — then "the search for stasis moves on to matters of definition" and further questions regarding stasis horos:

For example, one may define pornography as "sexual images degrading to women" and classify it not as a form of speech, but of action (these images do things in the way that a sign "Whites only" does something).

Questions of stasis poiotes (Quality or Value) can be divided into ‘simply’ (good or bad) or comparatively (better or worse).

Questions relating to statis metalepsis (Procedure) can be divided into Deliberative Questions and Forensic Questions.

Greek rhetoricians used the term hypothesis to name specific questions that involved actual persons, places, and events. They used the term thesis to name general questions having wide application — matters suited to political, ethical or philosophical discussions — which don’t refer to actual persons or events:

General: "Is censorship a violation of the right to free speech?"

Specific: "Does the Communications Decency Act infringe on the right of internet users to free speech?"

Identification of current opinions (kairos) and clarification of points of disagreement (stasis) can aid in the "invention" of reasoned arguments supporting or critiquing a general (issue) or a particular case.