Hobbes, Desire, and the Democratization of Rhetoric

Advances in the History of Rhetoric Jan 2013

Hobbes, Desire, and the Democratization of Rhetoric

Ned O'Gorman

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article considers the modern melding of rhetoric and democracy by looking at the approach to rhetoric in the early-modern figure Thomas Hobbes. While other scholars have considered Hobbes's approach to rhetoric in terms of humanistic, Ramistic, and Aristotelian influences, I look at it in light of the psychagogic tradition of rhetoric still active in the Renaissance. Reading Hobbes in light of the psychagogic tradition makes his approach to rhetoric less equivocal or contradictory than is often supposed, even as it helps us see in Hobbes's work a concerted effort to democratize rhetoric. I conclude that the real tension Hobbes presents us with is not found in his approach to rhetoric, which is relatively consistent, but rather in what his work suggests about the tensions of a democratized rhetoric.

Journal: Advances in the History of Rhetoric
Published: 2013-01-01
DOI: 10.1080/15362426.2013.763737
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Topics: multimodality

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

O’Gorman (2015)

Milton, Hobbes, and Rhetorical Freedom

Advances in the History of Rhetoric

Cites in this index (1)

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Looking Into Aristotle's Eyes: Toward a Theory of Rhetorical Vision

Advances in the History of Rhetoric

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