The Rhetoricity of Philosophy

“This is a book that needed to be written at this particular moment in the development of the relationship between philosophy and rhetoric in the twenty-first century. It puts in conversation four key thinkers in those fields who have not been dealt with together in such detail and with such insight. Its argument that an expanded notion of rhetorical audience will prove fruitful for contemporary philosophy is persuasively presented and should provoke productive discussion within philosophy and between philosophers and rhetoricians.” Steven Mailloux, Loyola Marymount University, USA “The Rhetoricity of Philosophy is significant for philosophy and rhetoric alike, but not simply because it uncovers rhetoric as the point of commonality in the Cassin-Badiou debate, nor because it discerns the limitations of the conceptions of rhetoric in both Perelman’s New Rhetoric Project and Ricoeur’s hermeneutics. Instead, and more importantly, by offering an expanded notion of audience, Blake Scott elegantly demonstrates rhetoricity as inherent to human discourse and action, and thereby provides a guide for how philosophical practice may respond effectively to polarized discourses on contemporary social issues.” Michelle Bolduc, University of Exeter, UK