Reading Blog 12

October 30, 2011

Enlightenment Rhetoric
This period is defined by the revolutions in sciences, philosophy and politics.  In turn, these altered the concepts of knowledge and truth, human nature and society.  The indirect change in logic affected rhetoric in the enlightenment period.  Cicero's five canons (invention, arrangement, style, memory, delivery) became the foundation of rhetorical study through the 17th and 18th centuries.  Some critics say that the writing during this time was purposeful, it was intended to please and instruct the reader.  I find this very interesting, writing is used more for entertainment purposes than for education.  The elocution movement focused on delivery and lasted through the 19th century.  This concept was supported by psychology.  This created a link to the classical period again, 'an analysis of taste and literary judgment, instruction in correct and effective speaking, and a respectable scientific theory of psychological persuasion.'  These theories are linked to the intellectual and social developments that shaped the modern world.

The elocution movement was extended to pronunciation.  This is a very cultural concept.  The elocution could change drastically among cities.  'Linguistic discrimination is a staple of human interaction.'  I like this statement.  I think it describes how people interact with each other and how important linguistics are to each individual culture.  It is somewhat of an identity, it describes who you are and where you're from.

John Locke
John Locke had a large impact on the direction of rhetoric and the 18th century.  He extended the ideological ideas of Bacon and Descartes by presenting these ideas in a new accessible language and common sense.  Using persuasion, he accounts the mental process of perception, thinking and using language.  He combined this with popular treatises on civil government and the rationality of religion, turning himself a public figure in the development of modern philosophy.  I like the concept of Locke's works.  He looks for truth in the physical world and answers to the knowledge as a psychological phenomenon.  He believes there is a real external world and that knowledge of it is possible, but only if we understand how we come to know this knowledge.  This concept confuses me.  It makes me wonder what the Locke's processes were to find this knowledge.  It seems like it is a never ending circle.  You can't know something without knowing something else.  Knowledge is a tricky concept.

Mary Astell
Astell developed a rhetoric that shows the influence of sources that tend to restrict rhetoric's domain and to view it negatively.  She devotes much less time to rhetoric than she does to logic.  She claims that nature is the best teacher of eloquence.  Astell seems to disregard rhetoric in many cases.  It seems to be in the back of her mind for most of the time, but she doesn't pay active attention to it, like she does with logic.  She uses arrangement, even though she gives it a different name, but even then, some people would consider this part of logic as well.  She keeps rhetoric limited to the style.  She is a big believer in women's 'rhetoric.'  Keeping style clear and language correct was very important to her.  I think it is interesting that this is the first women writing who was so devoted to feminist writings.  She believes strongly in the art of conversation, I still believe this is a very important aspect of rhetoric.