Abstract

The essay argues that no substantial connection exists between Stanley Fish's work and the tradition of sophistic rhetoric. The purpose of this argument is to show that Fish's work undermines and weakens the development of a rhetorical pedagogy that focuses on the role of language in the formation of beliefs. I contend that Fish's book, Doing What Comes Naturally, is actually hostile to most forms of a classical rhetorical education and can only issue from theoretical grounds that misunderstand the rhetorical tradition. Thus this essay seeks to critically examine one of the foremost defenders of rhetoric over the last twenty years by contextualizing his work in classical rhetorical theory. Fish produces a thin account of rhetoric that disassociates the language arts from citizenship in contemporary democracies. Such a move shapes his highly disciplinary and epistemological understanding of the function of higher education.

Journal
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published
2012-10-01
DOI
10.1080/02773945.2012.724514
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Philosophy & Rhetoric
  2. Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  3. Philosophy & Rhetoric

References (25)

  1. Rhetoric
  2. The Encyclopedia of Rhetoric
  3. Gorgias: Sophist and Artist
  4. Democracy and Rhetoric: John Dewey and the Arts of Becoming
  5. Pragmatism, Democracy, and the Necessity of Rhetoric
Show all 25 →
  1. Back to the Rough Ground: Practical Judgment and the Lure of Technique
  2. 10.1017/CBO9780511552489
  3. Doing What Comes Naturally: Change, Rhetoric, and the Practice of Theory in Literary and …
  4. The Revival of Pragmatism: New Essays on Social Thought, Law, and Culture
  5. The Trouble with Principle
  6. Save the World on Your Own Time
  7. How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One Too
  8. Rhetorical Hermeneutics: Invention and Interpretation in the Age of Science
  9. Saving Persuasion: A Defense of Rhetoric and Judgment
  10. Aristotle's Rhetoric: The Art of Character
  11. Thinking Across the American Grain: Ideology, Intellect, and the New Pragmatism
  12. Prudence: Classical Virtue, Postmodern Practice
  13. The Sophistic Movement
  14. Reception Histories: Rhetoric, Pragmatism, and American Cultural Politics
  15. Love's Knowledge: Essays on Philosophy and Literature
  16. Justifying Belief: Stanley Fish and the Work of Rhetoric
  17. Postmodern Sophistry: Stanley Fish and the Critical Enterprise
  18. Speaking for the Polis: Isocrates' Rhetorical Education
  19. Defining Reality: Definitions and the Politics of Meaning
  20. Democracy and Tradition