With regard to "rhetoric," I wouldn't rely very much on dictionary
definitions. They are, at best, a vague guide to ordinary usage and do
not reflect the significance of the art. As an example, Bacon's work in
reconstructing science is organized and structured by rhetoric.
Obviously, what he accomplished isn't even glimpsed in the dictionary
definition. Richard McKeon's "The Uses of Rhetoric in a Technological
Age" would be a good beginning point for someone interested in the new
rhetoric.
On a broader point, I am interested in how all of the core intellectual
arts--rhetoric, grammar, logic, and dialectic--have influenced design
and design studies. Explicitly or implicitly, they have had powerful
shaping influence. Ironically, it seems that few people are aware of
the nature of these arts or have made any effort to investigate the
diverse influences they have had in shaping our understanding and
practice of design.
This is particularly puzzling in view of the shift that has occurred in
many other disciplines in the late 20th century from logics and grammars
to rhetoric and dialectic--and the consequent restructuring of many
disciplines that has followed.
Dick
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