Manipulative rhetoric in 17th and 18th century sermons
Aporia, the borders of reason
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11396228 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cristina Garrigós González (Universidad de León, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Issue | 22 |
| Pages | 99 |
| Publication date | 2009-11-15 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0214-4808 • E-ISSN: 2171-861X |
| Publisher | Universidad de Alicante Servicio de Publicaciones (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.14198/raei.2009.22.07 |
| OpenAlex | W515880 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
It is my aim in this paper to explore the role of aporia as a rhetorical instrument that is used in religious sermons in order to manipulate the audience and try to convince them of a truth derived from the textual evidence of the Bible. In this context, aporia appears as a rhetorical figure by which the speaker expresses to be in doubt about a question, or presents an insoluble paradox or contradiction in the text’s meaning. I believe that the function of aporia in religious sermons has never been analysed as yet. To that extent, I will illustrate my thesis with three examples by John Donne, Jonathan Edwards and Laurence Sterne, three preachers who, faced with an insurmountable border – the necessity of explaining rationally the ineffable – recur to aporia in their discourses. It is my contention that the three sermons that I will discuss here exemplify what Derrida called the “plural logic of aporia” and show different ways in which the ministers can manipulate their audience to make them reach a certain truth, by convincing them of the impossibility to have access to that truth by themselves, therefore relying on the final authority of the Bible
Art · Context (archaeology · Contradiction · Epistemology · Impossibility · Linguistics · Literature · Meaning (existential · Order (exchange · Plural · Political science · Rhetoric · Rhetorical question · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity
| Highly cited | No |
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