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Abstract
Theorists advance differing perspectives on the role played by rhetoric in the acquisition of knowledge: some argue that reality is created by discourse; others contend that reality is distinct from and prior to discourse. This essay investigates the implications to rhetoric of these two alternatives. Underscoring the relativistic dangers of viewing “consensus” as an epistemic criterion, the authors take issue with the thesis that Truth is the product of consensus. It is concluded that rhetoric, if viewed as the process of striving for adherence, can be a tool of critical inquiry moving its practitioners towards the “apprehension” rather than the “creation” of reality.
