Abstract

ABSTRACT Applying a theory of homology to rhetorical pedagogy, this article suggests that Plato's and Augustine's discursive methods—dialectic and hermeneutics/homiletics respectively—function as unlocking devices via their formal structures. Dialectics unlock the discourses produced in/about the sensory world to reveal a higher level of material reality; hermeneutics/homiletics unlock Biblical ambiguities to produce a truer level of insight. Unlocking discourses, thus, give access to knowledge that would otherwise lie beyond reach for the untrained. The attention to form permits a different perspective on interpretation and pedagogy than more traditional approaches because it emphasizes audience's cognitive and “erotic” response to form and style.