Philosophy & Rhetoric Dec 2012

The Public and Its Affective Problems

Lynn Clarke University of Pittsburgh

Abstract

AbstractDewey emphasizes the perception of “indirect consequences” of transactions as the basis of responsible public identity and organization. These consequences are external; they appear in the scientifically observable world and are susceptible to technical control. But transactions may have indirect affective consequences that are part of a culturally influenced inner reality, pose obstacles to speech and communication, and fund an irresponsible public identity-cum-organization. Rhetorical theory that builds on Dewey's “public” ignores these consequences at considerable cost. This claim is supported by a social psychoanalytic conception of affects and by an interpretive-analysis of public speech-acts that moved from opposition to the largely unauthorized immigration of Latin Americans to Nashville-Davidson County, Tennessee, to reactionary endorsement and legislative passage of an “English-first” ordinance.

Journal
Philosophy & Rhetoric
Published
2012-12-01
DOI
10.5325/philrhet.45.4.0376
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

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