Advances in the History of Rhetoric Jul 2011

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

Debra Hawhee

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article culls a theory of rhetorical vision from Aristotle's Rhetoric by examining the cluster of terms that bears on his theory of visual style. Rhetorical vision stands apart from but complements visual rhetoric in that it attends to the rhetorical and linguistic conjuring of visual images—what contemporary neuroscientists call visual imagery—and can even affect direct perception. The article concludes by examining rhetorical vision in Demosthenes' Epitaphios. At stake in this investigation is the visible and visual liveliness of rhetoric and its ability to alter sense perception.

Journal
Advances in the History of Rhetoric
Published
2011-07-01
DOI
10.1080/15362426.2011.613288
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Topics
rhetorical theory multimodality voice and style affect and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. O’Connell (2017)
    <i>Enargeia</i> , Persuasion, and the Vividness Effect in A…
    Advances in the History of Rhetoric
  2. Westin (2017)
    Aristotle’s Rhetorical <i>Energeia</i>: An Extended Note
    Advances in the History of Rhetoric
  3. O'Gorman (2013)
    Hobbes, Desire, and the Democratization of Rhetoric
    Advances in the History of Rhetoric

Cites in this index (4)

  1. Kennerly (2010)
    Getting Carried Away: How Rhetorical Transport Gets Judgment Going
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  2. Finnegan (2008)
    “Liars May Photograph”: Image Vernaculars and Progressive Era Child Labor Rhetoric
    Poroi
  3. McAdon (2004)
    Reconsidering the Intention or Purpose of Aristotle's Rhetoric
    Rhetoric Review
  4. Graff (2001)
    Reading and the “written style”; in Aristotle's<i>rhetoric</i>
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Also cites 26 works outside this index ↓
  1. Carruthers (2008)
    The Book of Memory: A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture
     ↗
  2. Caston (1996)
    Why Aristotle Needs Imagination
    Phronesis  ↗
  3. Cohen (2002)
    Language-Specific Tuning of the Visual Cortex? Functional Properties of the Visual Word F…
    Brain  ↗
  4. Derderian (2001)
    Leaving Words to Remember: Greek Mourning and the Advent of Literacy
     ↗
  5. Finnegan (2001)
    The Naturalistic Enthymeme and Visual Argument: Photographic Representation in the “Skull…
    Argumentation and Advocacy  ↗
  6. Finnegan (2005)
    Recognizing Lincoln: Image Vernaculars in Nineteenth-Century Visual Culture
    Rhetoric & Public Affairs  ↗
  7. González (2006)
    The Meaning and Function of Phantasia in Aristotle's Rhetoric III.1
    Transactions of the American Philological Association  ↗
  8. Gross (2001)
    The Conceptual Unity of Aristotle's Rhetoric
    Philosophy and Rhetoric  ↗
  9. Gross (2006)
    The Secret History of Emotion: From Aristotle to Modern Brain Science
     ↗
  10. Gunn (2003)
    Refiguring Fantasy: Imagination and Its Decline in U.S. Rhetorical Studies
    Quarterly Journal of Speech  ↗
  11. Gunn (2005)
    Prime-Time Satanism: Rumor-Panic and the Work of Iconic Topoi
    Visual Communication  ↗
  12. Harris (1997)
    Saving the φαινóμϵνα: A Note on Aristotle's Definition of Anger
    Classical Quarterly  ↗
  13. Hawhee (2010)
    Case Studies in Material Rhetoric: Joseph Priestley and Gilbert Austin
    Rhetorica  ↗
  14. Kirby (1997)
    Aristotle on Metaphor
    American Journal of Philology  ↗
  15. Kosslyn (2003)
    When Is Early Visual Cortex Activated During Visual Mental Imagery?”
    Psychological Bulletin  ↗
  16. Kress (2006)
    Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design
     ↗
  17. McDaniel (2000)
    Fantasm: The Triumph of Form (An Essay on the Democratic Sublime)
    Quarterly Journal of Speech  ↗
  18. Newman (2002)
    Aristotle's Notion of ‘Bringing-Before-the-Eyes’: Its Contributions to Aristotelian and C…
    ” Rhetorica  ↗
  19. O'Gorman (2005)
    Aristotle's Phantasia in the Rhetoric: Lexis, Appearance, and the Epideictic Function of …
    Philosophy and Rhetoric  ↗
  20. Poster (1997)
    Aristotle's Rhetoric against Rhetoric: Unitarian Reading and Esoteric Hermeneutics
    American Journal of Philology  ↗
  21. Smith (2007)
    Aristotle's Classical Enthymeme and the Visual Argumentation of the Twenty-First Century
    Argumentation and Advocacy  ↗
  22. Stanford (1936)
    The Quality of ’□′OΨΙΣ in Words
    Classical Review  ↗
  23. Stroupe (2000)
    Visualizing English: Recognizing the Hybrid Literacy of Visual and Verbal Authorship on the Web
    College English  ↗
  24. Watson (1982)
    Φαντασία in Aristotle, De Anima 3.3.”
    Classical Quarterly  ↗
  25. White (1985)
    The Meaning of Phantasia in Aristotle's De Anima, III, 3–8
    Dialogue  ↗
  26. Wolfson (1935)
    The Internal Senses
    Harvard Theological Review  ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 33 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 2004
    Herbert Spencer's Philosophy of Style: Conserving Mental Energy ↗
    Russel Hirst
    rhetorical theory writing across the curriculum multimodality technical communication race and writing voice and style affect and writing
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 1986
    Rhetoric and Relevance in Technical Writing ↗
    M. Jimmie Killingsworth; Michael Gilbertson
    rhetorical theory multimodality technical communication voice and style affect and writing
  3. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Mar 2026
    Enhancing Oral Communication Skills Using VR? A Conceptual Model and Research Agenda ↗
    Anna Krispin; Mark Pluymaekers; Dominik Mahr
    multimodality voice and style affect and writing
  4. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Dec 2025
    Designing Business Communications in a Disrupted Workplace ↗
    Deborah C. Andrews
    multimodality voice and style affect and writing
  5. Written Communication Jan 2025
    Getting to “the Upper End of the Novice Zone”: An Exploration of Doctoral Students’ Writer Identity in Coauthoring With Supervisors for Publication ↗
    Jiayu Wang; Cassi Liardét
    qualitative research multimodality multilingual writers voice and style affect and writing