Deep Rhetoric: Philosophy, Reason, Violence, Justice, Wisdom - Softcover

Crosswhite, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 022601648X ISBN 13: 9780226016481

Publisher: The University of Chicago Press, 2013

Synopsis

“Rhetoric is the counterpart of logic,” claimed Aristotle. “Rhetoric is the first part of logic rightly understood,” Martin Heidegger concurred. “Rhetoric is the universal form of human communication,” opined Hans-Georg Gadamer. But in Deep Rhetoric, James Crosswhite offers a groundbreaking new conception of rhetoric, one that builds a definitive case for an understanding of the discipline as a philosophical enterprise beyond basic argumentation and is fully conversant with the advances of the New Rhetoric of Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca.

Chapter by chapter, Deep Rhetoric develops an understanding of rhetoric not only in its philosophical dimension but also as a means of guiding and conducting conflicts, achieving justice, and understanding the human condition. Along the way, Crosswhite restores the traditional dignity and importance of the discipline and illuminates the twentieth-century resurgence of rhetoric among philosophers, as well as the role that rhetoric can play in future discussions of ontology, epistemology, and ethics. At a time when the fields of philosophy and rhetoric have diverged, Crosswhite returns them to their common moorings and shows us an invigorating new way forward.

About this title

About the Author

James Crosswhite is associate professor of English at the University of Oregon. He is the author of The Rhetoric of Reason, and has directed writing programs at the University of California, San Diego, and at the University of Oregon, where he founded the Program in Writing, Speaking, and Critical Reasoning.

Review

“Committed to an idea of rhetoric that addresses and leads others to transcend themselves, James Crosswhite enacts the role of a thoughtful lecturer engaged in a serious inquiry. His readings are compelling and careful and fresh—Deep Rhetoric will be essential reading for almost every serious thinker eager to find a basis for making good arguments in our time.” (Don Bialostosky University of Pittsburgh)

“This is not just a study of but a call for reconfiguration of the disciplines. Recognizing the depth of rhetoric as a general paideia. James Crosswhite broadens the scope of deep rhetoric beyond argumentation and repositions rhetoric in relation to the whole liberal arts curriculum. Rhetoric’s tradition grants it the right to make this challenge, and this is the right time for it.” (John Arthos author of Speaking Hermeneutically: Understanding in the Conduct of a Life)

Edition details

• Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 022601648X
• ISBN 13: 9780226016481
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 424