Dear Rick (and Matt K.),
You criticized 15/9 18:51 -0400 Matt K.:
'For in your view, "Rhetoric" has explicitly been reduced to a mere synonym
for "self-expression." But what differentiates rhetoric from other types of
communication is that it actively seeks to gain the adherence of an audience
to its propositions. "Communication" and "expression" are broader than
rhetoric. While I would need to communicate a thought to you to convince
you of it, I would not need to convince you of a thought to communicate it
to you.'
Scott wrote 5/9 22:59 +0000 (and explained 7/9 1:27 +0000):
'the ego is basically a social construct'.
If we understand 'self-expression' to be a way of seeking social recognition
of 'self', 'self-expression' is rhetoric in the sense that it seeks to gain
the recognition of the audience of a 'project' (creation of 'self'). This
only slightly widens the definition of rhetoric, while still enabling
differentiation between rhetoric/self-expression and other types of
communication. Communication at the biological level (e.g. ants) and (in my
definition) at the social level (e.g. unconsciously copying someone else's
behavior) does NOT imply 'self-expression'.
For me this interpretation of rhetoric (and of self-expression) adds
something to my understanding of both AND enables us to further clarify the
distinction between Q-levels: both rhetoric and self-expression are
exclusive for the intellectual level (in my definition); the other levels
only contain other types of communication.
With friendly greetings,
Wim
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