“On Systems of Rhetoric,” by Douglas Ehninger
Discussion Leader: Dr. Loewe

Main Points:

• Rhetoric is not revolutionary, but evolutionary; new rhetorics fill new needs, and in that way rhetoric will always be evolving and expanding
• Generalizations are necessary to understand and describe both the past and the present
• Understanding of rhetoric is expanding, making rhetoric more complex and less accessible to the common man
• Has our definition of rhetoric expanded so much that the field has become “unstudiable?” — Parameters need to be set on rhetoric for the field to remain understandable and study applicable
• We can’t really examine current rhetoric because we’re so much a part of it – there’s no sense of objectivity.

Questions of the Discussion:

• Do you agree that rhetorics are becoming ever more penetrating and fruitful?
–What is meant by penetrating and fruitful? Strictly an expansion of rhetoric?
–Will new exigencies we face always lead to more penetrating or fruitful uses and definitions of rhetoric?
• Is expansion good or bad?
–Do we need to understand classical rhetoric to study it today?
• Does history (change and development) always mean progress?
• How does changing the delivery method or rhetoric effect its use?
• Whenever you make a claim, you must reduce information, but how reductive does a scholar need to be for his or her purpose?
–How much reduction is irresponsible?

General Notes:

• Technology will lead to many new uses for rhetoric (by creating new exigencies)
• Contemporary definition of rhetoric is “diluted”; it includes non-verbal communication, prose, etc.
• Burke shifts focus of the definition from persuasion onto identification
• Must keep in mind Ehninger’s opinion is hegemonic, and there are other ideas out there
• Scholars used to approach rhetoric as being concrete, but now “rhetoric” is seen as more abstract.
• Criticism of the work: it’s “whigish” history-does history mean progress?
• This work is canonical—necessary to know for an educated discussion on rhetoric
• Rhetoric of the classical period: “grammatical.” The “New British Rhetoric:” “psychological.” Of the modern era: “social or sociological.” Of our era: technological?
• Ehninger’s definition of rhetoric: “A rhetoric I define as an organized, consistent, coherent way of talking about practical discourse in any of its forms or modes.” p. 319.