Reading Question 10 & 11 (161 - 165) Flashcards
Meaning in Rhetoric:
Located not in words but in practice; rhetoric is oriented towards social action, the practical meaning is determined by the effects it has on audiences and their subsequent decisions and attitudes.
Meaning in Rhetoric:
Exigence
represents a practical problem that has the capacity to be resolved, at least in part, through rhetorical persuasion. Problems that do not require rhetorical intervention, such as the act of fixing a flat tire, are not rhetorical exigencies. It can however, when you cannot do it on your own and must persuade someone else to do it for you. Key characteristic is that successful resolution of the problem requires action by an audience not already predisposed to act. asking someone for a drink of water is not usually a rhetorical exigence; A person held hostage may have to employ all their rhetorical powers to appeal to the humanity of their captors and resolve the exigence of being starving or dying of thirst.
Contested and uncontested exigences
Meaning in Rhetoric:
Exigence: Contested
not universally accepted by an audience as real, and hence the rhetorical debate surrounds the existence rather than the solution to a problem. a small group of people believe the world will in end next year. yeah right.
Meaning in Rhetoric:
Exigence: Uncontested
Universally accepted problem whose solution remains in debate. struggle to eradicate poverty, txting and driving, world pollution.
Meaning in Rhetoric:
Judgement
Once rhetorical exigence is defined, the challenge to a rhetor is to advance a form of judgment appropriate for that exigence. Is the act of defining a particular person , object, or event in terms of a general category for the purposes of making a practical decision.
Ex: I wake up at night and hear a tapping sound (thing). Fearful that it is a burglar (initial idea) i get up and discover it is just the rattling of the air conditioner (conclusive idea). I then decide to go back to sleep (action). But this meaning can be different to a child’s judgment because he might not understand its just the air conditioner. Capital punishment deterrent to crime or is he an ally or an enemy?
Meaning in Rhetoric:
Social knowledge
The goal of rhetoric is social knowledge. Generally accepted conventions, attitudes and values of a community. Represents the collective judgements of a social group that are the results of past experiences and which guide beliefs and behaviors in future situations. Horrors of WWII taught us that one should not appease dictators or turn a blind eye to gross violations of human rights.
Immediate and long term impacts.
Meaning in Rhetoric:
Meaning in Performance:
Refers to that which is expressed by the performance, or the overall significance of the performance itself. Intentional meaning, perceived meaning, objective meaning, symbolic meaning, and emotional meaning.
Meaning in Rhetoric:
Meaning in Performance :
Intentional
Example of eggs and chicken. The intentional message wishes to send the audience. by smashing eggs, he expressed negative feelings towards abortion, and the live baby chicken to represent the living baby.
Meaning in Rhetoric:
Meaning in Performance
Perceived Meaning
Audience interpretation: experiences influence our meanings to different things. Eating chicken rather than eggs… totally different than abortion.
Meaning in Rhetoric:
Meaning in Performance
Objective Meaning
External facts of the performance; Generally agreed upon meaning of what literally occurred in the performance. Audience agrees on what was happening. placing eggs on table and not smashing the chicken.
Meaning in Rhetoric:
Meaning in Performance :
Symbolic Meaning
Figurative or metaphorical meaning: actions, colors, objects or images used to signify or represent other things. In performance , red table cloth symbolizes bloodshed and eggs symbolize growing fetuses. Mallet represents abortions and killing fetuses. Live chicken used metaphorically as a living baby.
Meaning in Rhetoric:
Meaning in Performance :
Emotional Meaning
Feelings, sentiments, or attitudes expressed by the viewing audience. OOHS and aahs! at the site of smashing eggs and a baby chick.
