In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Orientation Broadly speaking, this book is about our capacity for and susceptibility to rhetoric, two characteristics that for many centuries have been construed mostly as liabilities and once in a great while as endowments . Since the time of the pre-Socratics, people have been schooled to think of their capacity for most words as a proclivity to error, excess, or indulgence. Moreover, they have been trained to believe that their susceptibility to the charming words of others constitutes a weakness to be overcome by means of such fortifying agents as approved versions of reason, dialectical know-how, and objectivity . The logic of this kind of inculcation rests on the axiom that most human beings are deficient by nature, and the corollary that they need to be improved. According to self-righteous church figures, shrewd tyrants, and unwise thinkers, improvement consists of espousing their moralistic blueprints, following their political manifestos , and adopting their hyperlogical schemata respectively. In their minds, betterment demands that one become increasingly knowing, rational, and moral; at the same time it requires that one overcome ignorance, irrationality, and evil in its linguistic manifestations. In its simplest form, this directive amounts to the approval of some words and the disapproval of others. That this is so becomes apparent when one notes that the lessons of the improvers of humankind have generally sought justification in appeals to destiny, divine revelation, or clear and distinct ideas; and it also becomes apparent when one discovers that most improvers have consistently warned against any language that allows for human passions, inexplicable desires, or efforts to constitute one's life the best way one can. Linking such language to the devil term sophistry, they have propagated a pervasive logophobia , the fear that untamed utterances spell calamity and that uninspected discourses can lead to yet another Fall. In conjunction with this fear, they have also issued time and again this warning about the human capacity to listen: it must discriminate between various voices xi xii Orientation and tum itself obediently only to the one voice that really knows; the one that speaks with the authority of the hidden secrets of the universe. Between the injunction for muffled, endlessly qualified, or silent speech on the one hand, and the directive for exclusive attentiveness to the authentic voice of the Logos on the other, rhetoric has always had to reassert itself and demonstrate its necessity. In contrast to their logophobic schooling, people have been reassured from time to time that their capacity for rhetoric distinguishes them from animals and accounts for human civilization. Whether this reassurance ever made anyone feel affirmed as a human being is very doubtful. Equally doubtful is the notion that the belief in our mastery over animals or our genius for civilization suffices to render the worth of our being unquestionable. One need not go very far to see that much of what we are is animal; and human civilization is far from a marvelous accomplishment in which we can all delight self-contentedly , without shame. Therefore, when one wishes to have influence on others, being assured of one's domination over animals can only serve as a meaningless form of consolation; and when one wonders about one's place in the world, being reminded of the progress of civilization can only fuel self-doubts and intensify one's alienation from others. Someone once said that if you tell people for a hundred years that they are dogs, they will start barking. In the same spirit we can say that if you tell people for centuries that their desire to speak borders on transgression, they will fall silent. Once they do, adding insult to injury, you can assure them that their freedom of speech is constitutionally protected. In this way, you will be able to control them twice over: first because they will refrain from persuasive speaking, and second because they will mistrust even, or especially, the few eloquent transgressors of silence. In effect, you will have them convinced that they ought to be worthy servants of the Word (of the Church) and faithful followers of the Words (of the State). Over time, however, learned mistrust turns into apathy, while imposed servitude fosters the most daring dreams of freedom. Eventually, there comes a moment when even officially sanctioned Words fall on deaf ears. Depending on how one reads our present predicament, we may be living out this very moment. The other side of the hypothetical scenario ofbarking people covers the occasional reminders of...

Share