Search results for "Rhetorical question"
showing 7 items of 77 documents
Reconstructing social spaces: The rhetoric of the public/ private split
1996
Abstract The article deals with the public/private distinction as a hidden spatialization that regulates the social. It looks at restructurations of the distinction; at changes and their political consequences in terms of ongoing rhetorical boundary work. The naming or coding of something as public or private is in itself a cultured process. The distinction is used in various meanings and within multiple discursive repertoires. What is named as public or private also varies in time and in space. Although variable and contextual, the coding always carries social value; it structures the societal positions of people. Furthermore, the coding also carries meanings that are not translatable. “Th…
Rethinking Political Representation from the Perspective of Rhetorical Genres
2019
This article is a thought experiment. It constructs ideal types of political representation in the sense of Max Weber. Inspired by Quentin Skinner and others, the aim is to give a rhetorical turn to contemporary debates on representation. The core idea is to claim an ‘elective affinity’ (Wahlverwandschaft, as Weber says following Goethe) between forms of representation and rhetorical genres of their justification. The four ideal types of political representation are designated as plebiscitary, diplomatic, advocatory, and parliamentary, corresponding to the epideictic, negotiating, forensic, and deliberative genres of rhetoric as the respective ways to plausibly appeal to the audience. I dis…
The body fables in Babrius, Fab. 134 and 1 Corinthians 12: Hierarchic or democratic leadership in crisis management?
2021
Body metaphors and body fables were frequently used in ancient discourse for social communities and politics. This article will examine a body fable by the Greek fabulist Babrius (Babrius, Fab . 134) that has been overlooked in research so far. It shows a remarkable similarity to 1 Corinthians 12 through the use of central terms such as σῶμα and μέλος or personified speaking body parts such as an eye and head. Even if no literary direct dependence is claimed, the text, which was written at about the same time as 1 Corinthians, sheds light on Paul’s understanding of the body fable. It becomes apparent, however, that the rhetorical function is fundamentally different in the two texts. Whilst …
Deliberative Democracy, Active Citizenship and Critical Culture: From Aristotle’s Rhetoric to Contemporary Political Philosophy
2013
The aim of this paper is to defend an adequate reading of Aristotle´s deliberative rhetoric that allows us to understand practical rationalization as a process of interpretation of human actions. After the consideration of rhetoric as a general human ability that is indispensable for political coexistence, the impact of the Aristotelian rhetorical proposal is presented, not just as a defense of the importance of rhetoric in a democratic society, but also as a novel attempt to understand what it means to speak of practical rationality.
Comparative vs. Transcendental Approaches to Justice: A Misleading Dichotomy in Sen'sThe Idea of Justice
2012
This paper examines the distinction drawn by Amartya Sen between transcendental and comparative theories of justice, and its application to Rawls' doctrine. It then puts forward three arguments. First, it is argued that Sen offers a limited portrayal of Rawls' doctrine. This is the result of a rhetorical strategy that depicts Rawlsian doctrine as more “transcendental” than it really is. Although Sen deploys numerous quotations in support of his interpretation, it is possible to offer a less transcendental interpretation of Rawls. Second, the dichotomy between transcendental and comparative approaches to questions of justice is partly misleading, insofar as any plausible moral doctrine has b…
Postales desde el infierno jarocho: tácticas retóricas gráficas en la obra de Bruno Ferreira
2016
Este articulo pretende analizar la violencia como un elemento polisemico dentro de la retorica, en la que se articulan practicas discursivas y no discursivas situadas en circunstancias concretas. Se recurre a la categoria genero discursivo como primer marco de interpretacion de la serie de caricaturas titulada Postales desde el infierno jarocho , realizada por el artista Bruno Ferreira. Las caricaturas presentan una practica retorica distinta a la oficialista tratada en la mayoria de los medios periodisticos locales al abordar el tema de la violencia generada por la inseguridad. This article aims to analyze violence as a polysemic element within visual rhetoric, in which, under specific cir…
Children in the visual coverage of the European refugee crisis: A case study of the World Press Photo 2016
2018
Shifts in the visual coverage of refugees arriving in Europe and prominent compassion fatigue emphasize the need to examine visual strategies utilized to report on the crisis. This study focuses on representations of refugee children using a case of the World Press Photo (WPP) 2016. The material was interpreted with a model for visual rhetorical interpretation of journalistic photographs. Findings indicate the main visual elements involved in representing refugee children: visual trope of the migrant father, relation between children and barriers, visual oxymoron (juxtaposition of contradictory elements) and atmosphere in photographs. Findings suggest that photographs address polemics speci…