Revitalizing the Rhetoric of ‘Sustainability’: A Kenneth Burkean Diagnosis of Symbolic (Dis)Orders

Abstract

This paper offers a new perspective on the rhetoric of ‘sustainability’ especially within dialogue around ‘design for sustainability’ (DfS) by applying and advancing the work of twentieth-century rhetorical theorist and cultural critic, Kenneth Burke. Burke’s rhetorical theory is presented here for its potential to not only highlight but also transcend the common disjunction between theory and praxis that emerges in the ‘symbol-foolishness’ underpinning various forms of unsustainability. This paper presents Burke’s theory of symbolicity and discusses four key symbolic ‘disorders’ that he identified over the course of his career, namely, hierarchic psychosis, technological psychosis, trained incapacity, and the bureaucratization of the imaginative. In conclusion, this paper suggests how enhanced rhetorical literacy, or greater ‘symbol-wisdom’, could serve an important role in reviving the notion of ‘sustainability’ itself.

Keywords:

• design for sustainability
• sustainability rhetoric
• terministic screen
• symbolic disorders
• Kenneth Burke

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Burke’s theory of symbolicity developed somewhat independently of the mid-twentieth century semiotic and hermeneutic turns, but his understanding of symbols overlaps with these and other linguistically orientated schools of thought. While we cannot engage fully with how Burke’s thinking intersects with these and other rhetorics of design, we recognise the possibility of further discussion along these lines.

2 For a thorough literature review on the emergence and evolution of the notion of ‘design for sustainability’ (DfS), see Ceschin and Gaziulusoy (2016).

3 According to 11,000 leading global scientists, our global ‘climate emergency’ is closely linked to excessive consumption (Ripple et al. 2020, pp. 8–12).

4 Major themes in Burke’s work include critiques of modernist ‘progressive’ ideologies responsible for environmental degradation, as well as Marxist critiques of the division of labour, alienation caused by increased specialization, as well as the inequalities produced by certain capitalist excesses. However, Burke finds traditional Marxist critique inadequate for not considering the rhetorical dimensions of cultural problems.

5 In reference to Burke’s (1958, p. 63) statement regarding the human ‘tendency to misjudge reality as inspirited by the troublous genius of symbolism’.

6 Burke (1966, p. 18) means to draw attention to the possibilities of both honorific and ironic types of ‘perfection’ (such as ‘a perfect enemy’).

7 In reference to Aristotle’s concept of entelechy, whereby a thing works towards its perfect resolution based on the nature of its kind, or towards its natural telos (Burke 1966, p. 17).

8 Arguably Ceschin and Gaziulusoy's ‘drive’ to systematise all DfS approaches is an example of this. While potentially useful, their ordering exercise multiplies complexity to the point of generating a kind of analytic paralysis.

9 A classic example is found in Kalle Lasn’s famous 2006 publication, Design Anarchy (ORO Editions), which unconsciously enacts the very capitalist-consumerist excesses it critiques. It is a beautiful piece of design but its existence is a performative contradiction.

10 Burke refers to Thorstein Veblen’s well-known aphorism, ‘invention is the mother of necessity’ (Hübler 2005).

11 Tonkinwise (2015) argues that ‘[p]utting technology at the center of anything is profoundly conservative’ and that ‘[m]arket penetration of this or that technology is an appalling proxy for societal change’.

12 ‘Occupational psychosis’ is originally devised by John Dewey to explain how a main sustenance-providing activity extends or translates into other aspects of culture (Burke 1954, p. 38).

13 Ehrenfeld finds the notion of ‘sustainable development’ paradoxical and unhelpful (in Ehrenfeld and Hoffmann 2013, p. 23).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anneli Bowie

Anneli Bowie is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Visual Identities in Art and Design Research Centre (VIAD), University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Her research focuses on visual and verbal rhetorical aspects of design practice and visual culture.

Duncan Reyburn

Duncan Reyburn is an Associate Professor at the School of the Arts, University of Pretoria, South Africa. In his teaching, he specialises in the theory and practice of idea-generation and visual rhetoric. In his research, he has an interest in hermeneutical philosophy, philosophical theology, mimetic theory and visual (design) culture. Email: [email protected]