ABSTRACTIn this article, it is argued that the rationality of rhetoric is fundamental to it. Such a vision may be found in the humanist tradition but also in the practical dimension of the Greek techne. In light of this view, rhetoric must be seen both as an anthropology of speech and as the ground of society.

In this paper, it is argued that the classical rhetorical framework undergoes a transformation because of an important change in Western thought. Following this hypothesis, I analyze a rhetorical notion of “dissuasion” as a rhetorical technique of creating a “general disposition to inaction” in addition to a classical rhetorical notion of “dissuasion” that aims at “refraining from an action”.