Release date is 2022-06-28

The Phaedrus and the nature of rhetoric -- Dialectic and rhetoric at Dayton, Tennessee -- Edmund Burke and the argument from circumstance -- Abraham Lincoln and the argument from definition -- Some rhetorical aspects of grammatical categories -- Milton's heroic prose -- The spaciousness of old rhetoric -- The rhetoric of social science -- Ultimate terms in contemporary rhetoric.

Tim Lindell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)

"The Ethics of Rhetoric" by Richard M. Weaver is a philosophical text written in the mid-20th century. This work delves into the intricate relationships between rhetoric, ethics, and dialectic, primarily through the lens of Plato's dialogues, particularly the "Phaedrus." Weaver explores the nature of rhetoric as a form of ethical persuasion, examining how different forms of discourse can lead human thought and action towards good or evil. The opening of the text sets the stage by first addressing the complexities inherent in Plato’s "Phaedrus," highlighting its multifaceted discussion on love, the soul, and speechmaking. Weaver posits that the dialogue ultimately revolves around the nature of rhetoric, asserting that rhetoric should not merely be seen as an artifice but as a reflection of ethical considerations. He introduces the idea that speech acts can either uplift and guide towards virtuous ends or serve exploitative purposes, laying the groundwork for a deeper examination of rhetorical strategies and their implications for ethical communication throughout the rest of the work. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: United States: Henry Regnery, 1953