Questions and Answers
What is the relationship between rhetoric and symbolic action?
Rhetoric is a subset of symbolic action.
How does Burke define rhetoric?
The use of words by human agents to form attitudes or induce actions in other human agents.
What is dramatism?
Understanding human motivation through analysis of language.
What elements make up the Pentad?
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What are ratios in the context of the Pentad?
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What is a terministic screen?
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What do terministic screens do?
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Can we avoid terministic screens?
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Do terministic screens lead us into relativism?
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Study Notes
Rhetoric and Symbolic Action
- Rhetoric is a subset of symbolic action, defining the use of language as a tool for persuasion and communication.
Definition of Rhetoric
- Burke defines rhetoric as the strategic use of language by individuals to shape attitudes and motivate actions in others.
Dramatism
- Dramatism posits that human motivation can be understood through analyzing language. It emphasizes an ontological approach to understanding human behavior.
The Pentad
- The Pentad consists of five elements that help analyze motives in human actions:
- Agents: Individuals or types of people performing the action.
- Agency: The means utilized to achieve the act.
- Scene: The contextual background in which the action occurs.
- Purpose: The reasoning or justification for the action.
- The combination of these elements provides insight into the motives behind actions.
Ratios
- Ratios derive from the Pentad and examine how different components influence each other, producing various interpretations and implications regarding motivation.
Terministic Screens
- Terministic screens are conceptual lenses formed by specific terminology that influence perception and focus attention selectively.
- Any terminology reflects reality while simultaneously selecting and deflecting aspects of that reality.
Function of Terministic Screens
- They create cognitive frameworks that shape how individuals comprehend and engage with the world, impacting understanding and perspective.
Avoiding Terministic Screens
- It is impossible to escape terministic screens, as symbols are inherent to human communication, making them an unavoidable aspect of perception.
Relativism and Terministic Screens
- Terministic screens can lead to relativism, as individual perspectives vary significantly, influenced by personal experiences and orientations.
- Conversely, a shared reliance on symbols connects individuals, highlighting both the unifying and divisive nature of language and terms in shaping reality.
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Description
Explore Kenneth Burke's concepts of rhetoric and symbolic action with these flashcards. Understand the nuances of language and how it shapes human motivations and actions. Perfect for students of communication and rhetoric theory.
