Reality -- what a concept.

[Seth L. Kahn-Egan]

CJ et al:

I certainly agree that Bitzer's take is not entirely internally consistent
(although "self-contradictory" may be a little too strong a term).  And
Vatz's argument that salience is a creative act that Bitzer can't account
for seems reasonable to me.  Perhaps my defense of Bitzer is a product of
my own discomfort with postmodernity.

Seth

Seth Kahn-Egan
Syracuse University
PhD Student in Composition and Cultural Rhetoric
slkahneg at mailbox.syr.edu
315-423-8042 (home)
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On Thu, 14 Jan 1999, cj wrote:

> I like Margaret FalerSweany's bibliography (and dissertation topic! -- keep us
> posted on the project and any publications).
>
> Concerning Rhetorical Situation, and the Bitzer-Vatz-Consigny triad, I think
> Seth and Margaret both touch on important points. I especially like Seth's
> comment that Bitzer may simply be operating without the terminology of
> postmodernism.
>
> Still, I can't agree totally with either. Bitzer *does* seem
> self-contradictory. And I regret that my earlier, rather flippant treatment of
> his essay did not point out strongly enough one thing: "The Rhetorical
> Situation" is an important, seminal article for rhetoricians and students of
> rhetoric.
>
> However,  Bitzer's essay operates from a classical base, and to move past his
> references to Aristotle's discussion of artistic and inartistic proofs, and his
> scathing rejection of "sophistic rhetoric" with little more than a nod to the
> ancients, is to credit him with a more postmodern perspective than may be
> called for.
>
> When Bitzer writes that rhetoric alters reality, he is primarily (and by no
> means simplistically) referring to the ability of rhetoric to alter a) the
> auditor's perception of reality, and b) the real situation itself, by means of
> actions taken as a result of the discourse itself.
>
> When Vatz takes exception to Bitzer's claim that "Any exigence is an
> imperfection marked by urgency (GREAT memory, Ava!!!)," he tries to highlight
> his conviction that it is a serious mistake to operate from the assumption that
> situations have meaning. His comments focus on issues of rhetorical invention:
>
> "As soon as one communicates an event or situation he is using evocative
> language. As Richard Weaver and others have pointed out, language is always
> value-laden.  Clearly the adjectives into which a "situation" are communicated
> cannot be the "real situation"; they must be a translation."
>
> Vatz seems mostly concerned that Bitzer's view of "exigence" strips or masks
> the responsibility of the rhetor in shaping that meaning:
>
> "If one accepts Bitzer's position that "the presence of rhetorical discourse
> obviously indicates the presence of a rhetorical situation," then we ascribe
> little responsibility to the rhetor with respect to what he has chosen to give
> salience. On the other hand, if we view the communication of an event as a
> choice, interpretation, and translation, the rhetor's responsibility is of
> supreme concern."
>
> Consigny, of course, weenies out altogether by falling back on the valence of
> "Art" to explain and tentatively resolve the tensions between the Bitzer / Vatz
> perspectives.
>
> Which isn't an altogether bad way to go.
>
> Yours pedantically (and rather lamely, as always)
>
> CJ Jeney
>
>
> _____________________________
> CJ Jeney
> Arizona State University
>
> http://www.public.asu.edu/~starbuck/
> azcacti at asu.edu
> _____________________________
> Mork: "Fly, little egg! You're free!"
> Egg:   *splatt*
>