论文部分内容阅读
In this academic essay I will discuss the prevailing,yet ancient,rhetorical dilemma:Whether rhetoric is a matter of persuasion rather than a question of ethics in modern Western democracies.Despite the fact that this rhetorical debate dates back to the time of Isocrates in Ancient Greece,my recent experience as a speechwriter at the national parliament of Denmark has demonstrated that rhetoric is perceived very differently in politics compared to academia.This prompted me to readdress rhetoric’s perpetual dilemma to discuss rhetoric’s role and value as an academic discipline in modern Western democracies.My experience led me to the preliminary conclusion that academic rhetorical studies perhaps insist too much on rhetoric’s inherent ethics,yet I will argue that rhetoric’s normative function is essential to the concept of democracy,at all times.
In this academic essay I will discuss the prevailing, yet ancient, rhetorical dilemma: Whether rhetoric is a matter of persuasion rather than a question of ethics in modern Western democracies. Idepite the fact that this rhetorical debate dates back to the time of Isocrates in Ancient Greece, my recent experience as a speechwriter at the national parliament of Denmark has demonstrated that rhetoric is perceived very differently in politics compared to academia. This prompted me to readdress rhetoric’s perpetual dilemma to discuss rhetoric’s role and value as an academic discipline in modern Western democracies. .My experience led me to the preliminary conclusion that academic rhetorical studies perhaps insist too much on rhetoric’s inherent ethics, yet I will argue that rhetoric’s normative function is essential to the concept of democracy, at all times.