Rhetoric, Sophistry, Pragmatism (Literature, Culture, Theory)

Rating:
Summary: Before Aristotle were 'the words': after-'the right words'
Review: This is a wonderful introduction to critical neo-pragmatic thought which will assist those with interests in critical theory or in critical social literacies.

The range of articles is broad and eclectic with a mixture of literary approaches as well as philosophical ones to grant the reader/learner ' a privileged position' especially in terms of eloquence and elasticity in the negotiation of aesthetic and scientific discourse.

The pre-Socratic 'metron'or sophistic device MAN IS THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS provides an interesting insight into the philosophic and cultural climate of the classical Greek world and the pedagogical requirements for 'logon paideia' or SPEAKING WELL which have been passed down through the last 25 centuries or so.

The metron's duality and ambiguity viz IS MAN THE MEASURE OR THE MEASURER is a revealing introduction to both humanistic approaches to the study of culture as well as an enlivening historical vignette, appropriate to those who seek perspectives from which to appreciate the poststructuralist critique in the field of linguistics.