Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2006

Guest Editorial: A Response to Patrick Moore's “Questioning the Motives of Technical Communication and Rhetoric: Steven Katz's ‘Ethic of Expediency’”

Steven B. Katz North Carolina State University

Abstract

In my 1992 College English article “The Ethic of Expediency: Classical Rhetoric, Technology, and the Holocaust” [1], I looked at the implications of a Nazi memo whose sole purpose was to improve the efficiency of the gassing vans, in order to begin to try to understand and discuss the negative uses and ethical abuses to which technical communication, and deliberative rhetoric generally, could be taken by the powerful and unscrupulous. In “Questioning the Motives of Technical Communication and Rhetoric: Steven Katz's ‘Ethic of Expediency’” [2], Patrick Moore accuses me of ignoring alternate translations, citing out of context, and focusing on the negative meaning of words to make my case. The point at issue in these charges, I believe, is whether (and to what degree) Aristotle meant to base deliberative discourse on “expediency.” I will take each of these charges up one at a time to explore them more thoroughly, discuss their interrelations, and then conclude with a few observations of my own.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2006-01-01
DOI
10.2190/38d7-8kcx-blaw-y2k5
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical theory technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Bay et al. (2025)
    Creating and Sustaining an Antiracist Pedagogy Group in Technical and Professio…
    Pedagogy
  2. Ward (2010)
    The Banality of Rhetoric? (Part 2): Alternate Views of Technical Communication …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Ward (2009)
    The Banality of Rhetoric? Assessing Steven Katz's “the Ethic of Expediency” aga…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (3)

  1. Moore (2004)
    Questioning the Motives of Technical Communication and Rhetoric: Steven Katz's …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. MOORE (1996)
    Instrumental Discourse is as Humanistic as Rhetoric
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. KATZ (1993)
    Aristotle's Rhetoric, Hitler's Program, and the Ideological Problem of Praxis, …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Also cites 6 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/378062
     ↗
  2. Aristotle Rhetoric, Roberts W. R. (trans.), in The Complete Works of Aristotle, Barnes J. (ed.), Princeton Un…
     ↗
  3. 10.7208/chicago/9780226026701.001.0001
     ↗
  4. Aristotle Eudemian Ethics, Solomon J. (trans.), in The Complete Works of Aristotle, Barnes J. (ed.), Princeto…
     ↗
  5. 10.1080/10510977809367983
     ↗
  6. 10.1525/9780520340978-006
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 4 View in citation network →

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