Why the “epistemic” in epistemic rhetoric? The paradox of rhetoric as performance

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12370151
AutoresRichard A Cherwitz (The University of Texas at Austin, autor de correspondencia), Thomas J Darwin (University of Memphis)
Año1995
Volumen15
Número3
Páginas189-205
Fecha de publicación1995-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaText and Performance Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1046-2937 • E-ISSN: 1479-5760
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10462939509366116
OpenAlexW2026191320
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas26

In 1967 Robert L. Scott proclaimed that rhetoric is epistemic. Since then, some have declared the rhetorical epistemology controversy dead, suggesting that epistemology is not or should not be the linchpin of rhetorical theory. Implicitly, if not explicitly, theorists now appear to be suggesting that the meaning of rhetoric resides not in its epistemic foundations, but in its hermeneutic, pragmatic, and aesthetic dimensions, that is, in its “performance.” In this essay, we argue that there is no way to avoid an examination of epistemology when addressing the function and importance of the rhetorical enterprise. It is our contention that a theory of rhetoric as performance—one that eschews epistemic foundations—is paradoxical, nullifying the raison d'etre of rhetoric

Epistemology · Function (biology · Linguistics · Meaning (existential · Rhetoric · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Philosophy · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Rhetoric and Communication Studies