Philosophy & Rhetoric Nov 2014

Divine Cruelty and Rhetorical Violence

Michael Bernard-Donals

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the extent to which the divine marks the extremity of the address that compels us as subjects. If the call of the divine is what makes us subjects, then the subject's relation to the divine is by definition a relation of violence, a violence that simply is constitutive of the human predicament. After tracing out this displacement, I take up the characteristics of the human-divine relation and what that relation looks like in specifically rhetorical terms by examining Caryl Churchill's play Seven Jewish Children, which illustrates the way that humans are structured by their relation to divine violence. I conclude by suggesting that paying closer attention to the human-divine relation allows us to see writing not as a refuge—a field or locus—but as a means of interrupting fields, orthodoxies, methodologies, and identities.

Journal
Philosophy & Rhetoric
Published
2014-11-01
DOI
10.5325/philrhet.47.4.0400
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Topics
rhetorical criticism
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Bernard-Donals (2019)
    Rhetorical Movement, Vulnerability, and Higher Education
    Philosophy & Rhetoric
  2. Stormer et al. (2017)
    Thinking Ecologically About Rhetoric's Ontology: Capacity, Vulnerability, and R…
    Philosophy & Rhetoric

References (19)

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  3. Billington, Michael. 2009. “Seven Jewish Children, Royal Court, London.” Guardian, 11 Feb. http://www.guardia…
  4. Blanchot, Maurice. 1995. The Writing of the Disaster. Trans. Anne Smock. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
  5. Butler, Judith. 2005. Giving an Account of Oneself. New York: Fordham University Press.
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Show all 19 →
  1. Churchill, Caryl. 2009. Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza. http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/wor…
  2. Derrida, Jacques. 1999. Adieu: To Emmanuel Levinas. Trans. Pascale-Anne Brault and Michael Naas. Stanford, CA…
     ↗
  3. Goldberg, Jeffrey, and Ari Roth. “Caryl Churchill: Gaza's Shakespeare, or Fetid Jew-Baiter?” Atlantic, 25 Mar…
  4. Hart, Christopher. “The Stone and Seven Jewish Children.” (London) Times, 15 Feb. http://entertainment.timeso…
  5. Hyde, Michael. 2006. The Life-Giving Gift of Acknowledgment. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.
  6. Kant, Immanuel. 1987. Critique of Judgment. Trans. Walter Pluhar. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett.
  7. Lavin, Chad. 2008. The Politics of Responsibility. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
  8. Levinas, Emmanuel. 1981/1998. Otherwise than Being, or Beyond Essence. Trans. Alphonso Lingis. Pittsburgh: Du…
  9. Lundberg, Christian. 2008. “Rhetorics Sacred and Holy.” Paper delivered at the first biannual Conference on R…
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  12. Nancy, Jean-Luc. 2000. Being Singular Plural. Trans. Robert D. Richardson and Anne E. O'Byrne. Stanford, CA: …
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  13. Rollins, Brooke. 2009. “Persuasion's Ethical Force: Levinas, Gorgias, and the Call to the Other.” JAC 23 (9):…
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CrossRef global citation count: 2 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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