The Blackwell Companion to Aristotle provides in-depth studies of the main themes of Aristotle's thought, from art to zoology. The most comprehensive single volume survey of the life and work of Aristotle Comprised of 40 newly commissioned essays from leading experts Coves the full range of Aristotle's work, from his 'theoretical' inquiries into metaphysics, physics, psychology, and biology, to the practical and productive "sciences" such as ethics, politics, rhetoric, and art
In looking at the behavior of the "me-generation" the author acknowledges the occurence of selfless acts and argues that looking out for number one may require looking out for others too
This book excavates the rhetorical devices that Nietzsche habitually uses and explains how they constitute a distinctive form of philosophical argumentation. Through a sustained analysis of Nietzsche’s rhetorical style, stratagems, and didactic aims in two of his early works (‘On Truth and Lies in a Non-Moral Sense’ and Daybreak) and two of his later works (Beyond Good and Evil and Twilight of the Idols), the book assesses the extent to which Nietzsche's substantial rhetorical arsenal undermines the philosophical claims he is seeking to advance. The four case studies also bring to the fore some of the less palatable aspects of Nietzsche’s thought such as racial-stereotyping, the essentialising of a so-called slave mentality, and the ranking of human beings based on a highly idiosyncratic and prejudiced view of what qualifies as noble and ignoble.
Rhetoric, Scripture and Theology aptly describe the contents of this collection of essays from the 1994 Pretoria Rhetoric Conference. The conference marked a significant dialogue among scholars gathered from many nations to consider how rhetoric engages with the study of scripture and theology. South Africa provided a suitable context for such discussion. Although the contributors are not only from South Africa, the addressing of issues pertinent to a South African context shows through in many of the essays. Those that do not address particularly South African issues raise equally important issues regarding the topic of rhetoric and its relation to contemporary theological discourse.
Rhetorical analysis of texts exposes plausible ‘truths’ and presumptions implied by the writer’s presentation. In this volume, Leslie Gardner analyses the master psychologist Jung, who claimed to be expert at uncovering personal, psychological truths. In his theoretical writings, his rhetoric reveals philosophical ramifications which bear strong similarities to those of the rhetorician of the 18th century, Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico. This book is driven by an interest in arguing that it is possible to read Jung’s works easily enough when you have a set of precepts to go by. The paradox of scientific discovery being set out in Jung’s grotesque and arcane imagery begins to seem a startling and legitimate psychology for the 21st century. It is time Jungian studies took on this most appropriate examination of analytical psychology. Bringing Vico to bear directly on Jung’s thought has only been cursorily attempted before although much alluded to. We find indeed that some of Jung’s ideas derive directly from rhetorical theory, and this volume proposes to highlight Jung’s innovations, and bring him into forefront of contemporary psychological thought. Rhetorical Investigations will be of interest to analysts and academics, and also to those studying philosophy and psychology.
How translatable is the language of the emotions across cultures and time? What connotations of particular emotions, strongly felt in the early modern period, have faded or shifted completely in our own? If Western culture has traditionally held emotion to be hostile to reason and the production of scientific knowledge, why and how have the passions been lauded as windows to higher truths? Assessing the changing discourses of feeling and their relevance to the cultural history of affect, Reading the Early Modern Passions offers fourteen interdisciplinary essays on the meanings and representations of the emotional universe of Renaissance Europe in literature, music, and art. Many in the early modern era were preoccupied by the relation of passion to action and believed the passions to be a natural force requiring stringent mental and physical disciplines. In speaking to the question of the historicity and variability of emotions within individuals, several of these essays investigate specific emotions, such as sadness, courage, and fear. Other essays turn to emotions spread throughout society by contemporary events, such as a ruler's death, the outbreak of war, or religious schism, and discuss how such emotions have widespread consequences in both social practice and theory. Addressing anxieties about the power of emotions; their relation to the public good; their centrality in promoting or disturbing an individual's relation to God, to monarch, and to fellow human beings, the authors also look at the ways emotion serves as a marker or determinant of gender, ethnicity, and humanity. Contributors to the volume include Zirka Filipczak, Victoria Kahn, Michael Schoenfeldt, Bruce Smith, Richard Strier, and Gary Tomlinson.
Since antiquity, philosophy and rhetoric have traditionally been cast as rivals, with the former often lauded as a search for logical truth and the latter usually disparaged as empty speech. But in this erudite intellectual history, Nancy S. Struever stakes out a claim for rhetoric as the more productive form of inquiry. Struever views rhetoric through the lens of modality, arguing that rhetoric’s guiding interest in what is possible—as opposed to philosophy’s concern with what is necessary—makes it an ideal tool for understanding politics. Innovative readings of Hobbes and Vico allow her to reexamine rhetoric’s role in the history of modernity and to make fascinating connections between thinkers from the classical, early modern, and modern periods. From there she turns to Walter Benjamin, reclaiming him as an exemplar of modernist rhetoric and a central figure in the long history of the form. Persuasive and perceptive, Rhetoric, Modality, Modernity is a novel rewriting of the history of rhetoric and a heady examination of the motives, issues, and flaws of contemporary inquiry.
This volume considers the paramount implications to persuasive communication that media brought regarding how we think, express, argue and feel together. It is concerned with both the media practice of rhetoric activity and the rhetorical practice of media activity: it considers how the media integrated rhetorical speech, and analyses how rhetoric adapted to media societies. Media and rhetoric are highly dependent on each other because, to persuasively communicate today, media must also be considered. The book is about how the media alter the ways we talk, discuss, argue and convince. It is focused on the theoretical and empirical analysis of communication technologies such as advertising and digital technologies as persuasive mechanisms and central tenets of contemporary 21st century rhetoric. Concentrating on two of the most fundamental areas of media rhetoric—advertising and digital media—the six chapters, authored by scholars from around the world, demonstrate how persuasive speech is exerted in, through and by the media.
The Rhetorical Tradition, the first comprehensive anthology of primary texts covering the history of rhetoric, examines rhetorical theory from classical antiquity through today. Extensive editorial support makes it an essential text for the beginning student as well as the professional scholar.
