Rhetoric as Deliberation or Manipulation? About Aristotle's Rhetoric and its Misuse in Recent Literature. Issue 1 (1st April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jörke, Dirk
• Is Part Of: Redescriptions. Volume 17:Issue 1(2014)
• Page Start: 68
• Page End: 85
• Publication Date: 2014-04-01
• Subjects: Political science -- Philosophy -- Periodicals; 320.05
• DOI: 10.7227/R.17.1.4
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2308-0906

Abstract

<abstract xml:lang="en"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>In contrast to some recent articles, which try to bridge the gap between Aristotle's <italic>Rhetoric</italic> and contemporary concepts of deliberative democracy, it is argued that Aristotle in this work does not plead for a rational and unemotional way of political decision making. On the contrary, his <italic>Rhetoric</italic> should be read as a manual for strategically oriented actors if not for demagogues. The well-known tension between the more ethical and the political parts of <italic>Rhetoric</italic> can be resolved if a distinction is made between a form of rhetoric, which has its place in an ideal polis, and the kind of rhetoric that is necessary in a corrupt regime. For Aristotle the democratic regime of Athens is such a corrupt regime. In the last part of this paper, it is demonstrated that Aristotle in his <italic>Rhetoric</italic> highlights the non-cognitive and emotional features of deliberative procedures and thereby corrects one of the most serious shortcomings of the theory of deliberative democracy.</p> </abstract>