Glossary

From RhetorClick

This page is dedicated to key terms from the readings.

Contents 1 A 2 B 3 C 4 D 5 E 6 F 7 G 8 H 9 I 10 J 11 K 12 L 13 M 14 N 15 O 16 P 17 Q 18 R 19 S 20 T 21 U 22 V 23 W 24 X 25 Y 26 Z

A

• Aesthetics: study of the mind and emotions in relation to the sense of beauty (see "The New Rhetoric: A Theory of Practical Reasoning" by Chaïm Perelman)
• Adumbration: prefiguration: the act of providing vague advance indications; representing beforehand. (Burke January 27 Class Notes)
• Affective Fallacy: Wimsatt and Berdsley claimed that evaluating literature by the way it affects the reader is uselessly subjective. Again, literature should be evaluated through its use of language, not outside factors (see "How to Read a Page" by I. A. Richards)
• Agitator: A person who urges others to protest or rebel. (Burke January 27 Class Notes)
• Aleatoric: according to chance (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Ambiguity: Richards showed how under-examined ambiguities can lead to misinterpretation of an entire work (see "How to Read a Page" by I. A. Richards)
• Ancillary: Providing necessary support to the primary activities or operation of an organization, institution, industry, or system. (Burke January 27 Class Notes)
• Animism: according to Aristotle, all objects have souls (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Antistrophos: counterpart, companion (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Antithetical: being in direct and unequivocal opposition (see "Nature of the Linguistic Sign" by Ferdinand de Saussure)
• Antilogies: contradiction in terms or ideas (see "The New Rhetoric: A Theory of Practical Reasoning" by Chaïm Perelman)
• Aphorism: a pithy observation that contains a general truth(see Foucault, Michel "What Is an Author?")
• Apodictic philosophy: something demonstrated therefore true (see "The New Rhetoric: A Theory of Practical Reasoning" by Chaïm Perelman)
• Axiological: of or relating to the study of values. (Weaver February 15 Class Notes)
• Axiom: self-evident truths that require no proof (see "The New Rhetoric: A Theory of Practical Reasoning" by Chaïm Perelman)

B

• Backing: According to Stephen Toulmin, backing is "other assurances, without which the warrants themselves would posses neither authority nor currency" (The Layout of Arguments 113).
• Bombast: pretentious inflated speech or writing
• Bricolage: (in art or literature) construction or creation from a diverse range of available things (see April 5 Class Notes)

C

• Canonical: accepted as being accurate and authoritative (see"What is an Author?" by Michel Foucault)
• Categorical imperative: an unconditional moral obligation that is binding in all circumstances and is not dependent on a person's inclination or purpose (see "The New Rhetoric" by Chaim Perelman)
• Chariot allegory: Socrates compares the soul to chariot horses and their rider. He believes the soul (chariot rider) is immortal and consists of one good horse and one bad horse. The soul is in constant struggle balancing and choosing between the two horses. Through the good soul only, the chariot can make it to eternity or heaven. (Weaver February 15 Class Notes)
• Classical Rhetoric: theory of persuasive discourse (Perelman February 10 Class Notes)
• Close Reading: Richards shifted the focus from general analysis to a meticulous, word-level method of interpretation, which has greatly influenced modern criticism. (Richards February 1 Class Notes)
• Compendia: a brief summary of a larger work or of a field of knowledge; a list of number items (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Continuum: A continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct. (Burke January 27 Class Notes)

D

• Datum:
• Death of the Author: Roland Barthe's essay argues that the author must be disentangled from the text (Richards February 1 Class Notes)
• Deictic: denoting a word or expression whose meaning is dependent on the context in which it is used (see "What Is an Author?" Michel Foucault)
• Derided: Express contempt for; ridicule. (Weaver February 15 Class Notes)
• Dialectic: two-sided dialogue, formal argumentation system, conversation (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Doxa: social knowledge (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Dialectical reasoning: moving back and forth between contrary lines of reasoning examing both arguments (see "The New Rhetoric" by Chaim Perelman)
• Diachronic: of, relating to, or dealing with phenomena (as of language or culture) as they occur or change over a period of time (see "Nature of the Linguistic Sign" by Ferdinand de Saussure)
• Disparagement: a communication that belittles somebody or something. (Weaver February 15 Class Notes)
• Dispositio: the system used for the organization of arguments in Western classical rhetoric (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)

E

• Ecriture: the French word for ‘writing’. where it appears in this form in English texts, it refers to one or more specific senses used by modern French theorists.. "What Is an Author?"] by Michel Foucault)
• Elocutio: is the term for the mastery of stylistic elements in Western classical rhetoric and comes from the Latin loqui, "to speak". (Burke January 27 Class Notes)
• Emthymeme: uses audience's assumptions, only use 1 premise (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Entelechy: a realization or actuality as opposed to a potentiality; the actualization of form-giving cause as contrasted with potential existence. (Burke January 27 Class Notes)
• Episteme: core, truths of the earth knowledge (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Esperanto: an artificial international language based as far as possible on words common to the chief European languages (see "Nature of the Linguistic Sign" by Ferdinand de Saussure)
• Ethos: The persuasive appeal of one's character, especially how this character is established by means of speech or discourse. Ethotic appeals rely on the trustworthiness of the speaker or writer. Ethos is an effective appeal because when the audience believes that the speaker does not intend to do them harm, they are more likely to trust what is being said. (Persuasive appeals: see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede
• Etymologically (Burke January 27 Class Notes)
• Existentialism: a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will (see "The New Rhetoric" by Chaim Perelman)
• Exegesis: manifesting behavior that is habitual, maladaptive, and compulsive (see "What Is an Author?" Michel Foucault)
• Exordium: the beginning or introductory part, esp. of a discourse or treatise(see "The New Rhetoric" by Chaim Perelman)
• Extrinsic: Not part of the essential nature of someone or something; coming or operating from outside. (Weaver February 15 Class Notes)

F

• Fallacious: containing or based on a fallacy; "fallacious reasoning"; "an unsound argument". (Weaver February 15 Class Notes)
• Forensic speaking: is a form of speech that either attacks or defends somebody (see "The New Rhetoric" by Chaim Perelman)

G

H

• Heteroglossia: the qualities of a language (such as ideology, perspective, etc.) that are extralinguistic, but common to all languages (see The Dialogic Imagination)
• Homonymy: the relation between two words that are spelled the same way but differ in meaning or the relation between two words that are pronounced the same way but differ in meaning (see "What Is an Author?" Michel Foucault)
• Hypertext: Ted Nelson, who coined the term hypertext, defines it as non-sequential writing. "This means writing in which the logical connections between elements are primarily associative rather than syllogistic, as in conventional text" (Slatin 171). (Slatin March 22 Class Notes)

I

• Imbued: to permeate or influence as if by dyeing (see "Nature of the Linguistic Sign" by Ferdinand de Saussure)
• Inventio: the system or method used for the discovery of arguments in Western rhetoric (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Intentional Fallacy: William K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley asserted that the author's words, not his intent, should be studied. Richards argued that since an authors mind can never be known, we can only examine her words (Richards February 1 Class Notes)
• Interpretant: how you perceive the representamen (Peirce January 25 Class Notes)
• Inter-Textual Variations: On the inter-textual level, text is structured through alphanumeric cues (headings, numbers), spatial cues (horizontal and vertical distribution of text on a page) and graphic cues (bullets, arrows, lines on tables) (see Rhetoric of Text).
• Intra-Textual Variations: local changes in typography, such as boldfacing, upper case, italics, etc (see Rhetoric of Text).
• Inventio: the system or method used for the discovery of arguments in Western rhetoric (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Isomorphous: being of identical or similar form, shape, or structure (see "Toward a Methodology for the Human Sciences" by Mikhail Bakhtin)
• Instrumental value judgment: judgments that use values as a means to alread accepted ends, or as obstacles to their attainment (see "The New Rhetoric" by Chaim Perelman)
• Intuitionism: theory that primary truths and principles (esp. those of ethics and metaphysics) are known directly by intuition(see "The New Rhetoric" by Chaim Perelman)
• Iteration: The repetition of a process or utterance. (Weaver February 15 Class Notes)

J

K

• Krisis: point of judgment, moment of decision (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)

L

• Lexia: Parts of a text that are separated from the meaning of the work as a whole to show the multiplicity of meaning and references.
• Logology: study of language and symbols (Burke January 27 Class Notes)
• Logomachies: a dispute over or about words.
• Logos: the appeal to reason. Logical appeals attempt to persuade the audience using intellect. Most academic arguments rely mainly on logos. (Persuasive appeals: "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede
• Logical empiricism: school of philosophy that combines empiricism - the idea that observational evidence is indispensable for knowledge of the world - with a version of rationalism incorporating mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs ( See "The New Rhetoric" by Chaim Perelman)

M

• Modal Qualifiers:

N

• Natura naturans: nature doing what nature does (see "Toward a Methodology for the Human Sciences" by Mikhail Bakhtin)
• Natura naurata: nature already created (see "Toward a Methodology for the Human Sciences" by Mikhail Bakhtin)
• New Criticism: Richards' ideas helped establish this movement, which viewed texts as completely autonomous (Richards February 1 Class Notes)
• New Rhetoric: theory of argumentation (Perelman February 10 Class Notes)
• Node: Any object which is linked to another object (Slatin March 22 Class Notes)
• Nominalism: The belief that universals are mere names without any reality. The doctrine of the semantic(see "The Cultural Role of Rhetoric by Richard Weaver)

O

• Object: the action you take (Peirce January 25 Class Notes)
• Organon: an instrument for acquiring knowledge; specifically: a body of principles of scientific or philosophic investigation (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Orthographic: projection of a single view of an object (as a view of the front) onto a drawing surface in which the lines of projection are perpendicular to the drawing surface (see "Nature of the Linguistic Sign" by Ferdinand de Saussure)

P

• Parlance: a particular way of speaking or using words, especially a way common to those with a particular job or interest. (Burke January 27 Class Notes)
• Paradeigma: use of example or evidence to prove a point (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Pathos: the appeal to emotion. When people accept a claim based on how it makes them feels=, they are acting on pathos. A majority of advertisements and arguments in the popular press rely heavily on pathetic appeals. Although the pathetic appeal can be manipulative, it is the cornerstone of moving people to action. (Persuasive appeals: "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede
• Pejorative: a word or phrase that has negative connotations or that is intended to disparage or belittle: a pejorative word or phrase (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Perennial: continuing without interruption. (Burke January 27 Class Notes)
• Phonemes: any of the abstract units of the phonetic system of a language that correspond to a set of similar speech sounds (as the velar \k\ of cool and the palatal \k\ of keel) which are perceived to be a single distinctive sound in the language (see "Nature of the Linguistic Sign" by Ferdinand de Saussure)
• Pisteis: proofs, persuasive appeals (logos, ethos, pathos); artistic (logical, logos, nonlogical, ethos and pathos) and inartistic (tangible evidence) proofs (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Poeis: fine arts (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Polyglossia: the hybrid nature of language (see Mikhail Bakhtin and The Dialogic Imagination
• Positivist empiricism: emphasizes role of experience and evidence especially sensory perception (see "The New Rhetoric" by Chaim Perelman)
• Priori: relating to or derived by reasoning from self-evident propositions (see "Nature of the Linguistic Sign" by Ferdinand de Saussure)
• Promulgation: to make known by open declaration; publish; proclaim formally or put into operation (a law, decree of a court, etc.). (Burke January 27 Class Notes)
• Proofs: Justification, reasoning, argumentation. (Perelman February 10 Class Notes)

Q

R

• Rationalism: truth is not sensory, but intellectual and deductive. You only know thought through deductive reasoning. (Perelman February 10 Class Notes)
• Rationalistic idealism: criterion of truth is not sensory but intelluctual and deductive (see "The New Rhetoric" by Chaim Perelman)
• Rediscovers: the effects of analogy or isomorphism with current forms of knowledge that allow the perception of forgotten or obscured figures (see"What is an Author?" by Michel Foucault)
• Representamen: what something represents to you personally (creates in the mind of that person an equivalent sign, or perhaps a more developed sign) (Peirce January 25 Class Notes)
• Rhetoric: (see Definitions of Rhetoric)

S

• Semantic: of or relating to meaning in language (see "Toward a Methodology for the Human Sciences" by Mikhail Bakhtin)
• Semiology: the study of signs (see "Nature of the Linguistic Sign" by Ferdinand de Saussure)
• Signified: concept in the mind (not a thing but the notion of a thing) (see "Nature of the Linguistic Sign" by Ferdinand de Saussure)
• Signifier: the material (or physical form) of the sign (see "Nature of the Linguistic Sign" by Ferdinand de Saussure)
• Spatiotemporal: Belonging to both space and time or to space-time. (Weaver February 15 Class Notes)
• Syllogism: logical/deductive, conclusion resting on 2 premises (major, minor, conclusion) (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Supra-Textual Structuring: affects the document globally, with section titles, page headers, tabs, page size, orientation, the placement of extra-textual elements (e.g. data display and pictures), icons, page color, and various line, textures, and marks. Supra-textual cues create visual coherence among units in a document (see Rhetoric of Text)
• Synchronic: concerned with events existing in a limited time period and ignoring historical antecedents (see "Nature of the Linguistic Sign" by Ferdinand de Saussure)
• Suasory: Tending to persuade. (Burke January 27 Class Notes)
• Subjectivism: doctrine that knowledge is merely subjective and that there is no external or objective truth (see "The New Rhetoric" by Chaim Perelman)
• Subverter: to pervert or corrupt by an undermining of morals, allegiance, or faith. (Weaver February 15 Class Notes)

T

• Tautologies: a phrase or expression in which the same thing is said twice in different words; a statement that is true by necessity or by virtue of its logical form(see "The New Rhetoric" by Chaim Perelman)
• Techne: art, craft (see "On Distinctions between Classical and Modern Rhetoric" by Andrea A. Lunsford and Lisa S. Ede)
• Telos: an ultimate end. (Burke January 27 Class Notes)
• Trivium: An introductory curriculum at a medieval university involving the study of grammar, rhetoric, and logic. (Bryant February 3 Class Notes)
• Tropism: growth toward or away from external stimulus (Burke January 27 Class Notes)

U

V

W

• Warrant:

X

Y

Z