Towards ‘Weight’ as a Rhetorical Concept

Curtis K.J. Hyra

Curtis K.J. Hyra

Keywords: argument, argumentation, cognitive environment, metaphor, rhetoric, rhetorical citizen, weight

Abstract

Recent work in rhetorical citizenship by Christian Kock and Lisa Villadsen combines the theories of political argumentation and deliberation with rhetorical agency. A theory of rhetorical citizenship where deliberation in the context of political argumentation plays a crucial role makes use of rhetorical theory in both an epistemic and evaluative capacity. However, as much as deliberation is about weighing two sides of an issue, or two issues side by side, the metaphor of weight is not listed as a rhetorical concept in rhetorical canon. This essay explores a common sense scientific understanding of weight to explicate the senses in which we use the term “weight” metaphorically.

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Sitography

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=deliberation