Feral Rhetoric: Common Sense Animals and Metaphorical Beasts

Diane M. Keeling

doi:10.1080/02773945.2017.1309905

Rhetoric Society Quarterly May 2017

Feral Rhetoric: Common Sense Animals and Metaphorical Beasts

Diane M. Keeling

Abstract

The humanist tradition of rhetoric has historically emphasized differences rather than similarities between humans and nonhuman animals. Attending to similarities between humans and other species is considered anthropomorphic; however, avoiding similarities is anthropocentric. Using case studies of feral children, this essay attends to the way similarities may be constituted across differences, particularly in cases where wolves domesticate human children. Domestication is the constitution of common sense. Aristotle theorizes common sense as an interspecies capacity, while Cicero contends it is innately human. The humanist tradition has favored Cicero’s rendering. This essay works through the consequences of this adoption and concludes by speculating on Aristotle’s notion of common sense as zoomorphism, a form of animal troping.

Journal: Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published: 2017-05-27
DOI: 10.1080/02773945.2017.1309905
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Open Access: Closed
Topics: classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism
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Cited by in this index (1)

Poole (2023)

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Feral Rhetoric: Common Sense Animals and Metaphorical Beasts

Abstract

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

References (19) · 1 in this index

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