Burke, Kenneth "Definition of Man"

In "Definition of Man," Kenneth Burke outlines his philosophical exploration of the essence of man--what makes humans human. He believes that we are fundamentally different from animals and in this essay he attempts to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes us different in nature from animals (he concedes that we are animals, but argues that our mode of being is essentially distinct from that of other animals).

He begins the essay describing the relationship between definition and meaning--Does definition inspire meaning or meaning, definition? His argument is that definition inspires meaning. Definition is “prior to the observations it summarizes” (Burke, 40). By pointing this out at the beginning of his essay, Burke emphasizes straightaway his belief in the power of language to shape reality.

Indeed, Burke posits that language represents much of what we call reality, saying that outside of the realm of personal experience, our conception of the world is but a symbolic representation enabled by language. Burke posits that it is the symbolicity of humanity, rooted in the verbal, that allows them to distinguish between the two, even. And we use the symbol-sets to navigate "reality," even as they screen us from the "non-verbal." He likens it to a road-map on a cross-continental trip, which is incredibly useful because it represents so little in terms of what actually will be experienced. Language itself can help us "find our way about," while at the same time language can lead to the kind of destruction mentioned above.

In the following sections of the essay, Burke develops the idea that language is prior to meaning in the context of his overall argument that language--symbolic communication--is what sets man apart from all other beings. Man’s ability to conceptualize and, more importantly, to know that he has conceptualized, to be capable of “thinking about thought,” is what makes him different from the wren who, by accident (according to Burke), discovered how to force her overgrown young from the nest but could not reflect on the fact that she had just done so.

In addition to being a philosophical exploration, Definition of Man serves as political and religious commentary. Burke’s assertion that humans are capable of higher thought and of contemplating the negative necessarily leads to religious questions. If humans are capable of higher thought, then what is higher thought, and where does it come from? And where does “nothing” come from? Burke argues that the existence of “yes” and “no,” of “something” and “nothing” make a strong argument for the existence of God and Devil. Definition of Man is political commentary in that Burke attempts to answer questions about why we make war. His short poem at the end and various comments throughout the essay demonstrate is disgust and awe at the possibility of nuclear war.

In “Definition of Man,” [[Kenneth Burke]] takes a fairly dark view of human beings and their use of language. He defines man, using five clauses, as “Man is a symbol-using (symbol-making, symbol-misusing) animal/ inventor of the negative (or moralized by the negative)/ separated from his natural condition by instruments of his own making/ goaded by the spirit of hierarchy (or moved by the sense of order)/ and rotten with perfection” (53-54). At the beginning, Burke clearly states that his definition is subject to debate and modification. Burke asserts that our symbols-systems are what allow humans to survive and innovate; however, these same systems can also lead to destruction, thus introducing a duality of symbols or language, a main theme in this article. Continuing with the idea of duality, Burke introduces the clause regarding humans as the inventor of the negative, as he claims that nothing in nature is negative and that the negative was constructed by the symbol-systems. He continues to reference language used in the discussion of morality, i.e. the “Thou shall-not.” He believes in stating this negative phrase brings both positive and negative ideas. Then, Burke argues that our symbol-systems construct social networks and norms, etc., that separate us from our natural instincts; in other words, we regard natural occurrences or “things” as negative as a result of language. Furthermore, when he says “rotten with perfection,” Burke does not mean that humans are perfect. He means that humans strive to fulfill their perfect, already formulated ideas. This can lead to political scapegoating and a number of other sad occurrences.

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* [[Bryant, Donald C. "Rhetoric: Its Functions and Its Scope"]] Bryant attempts to add focus to Burke's broad definition of rhetoric.