Rhetorical criticism as moral action

Abstract

The abandonment of managerial rhetoric and the rise of symbolic rhetorics naturally involves the critic more deeply in morality and social order. Furthermore, these changes compel a view that morality is more than merely support of particular positions. If language is more than mere expression, then the moral quality of rhetorical forms interpenetrates a social order. These notions of criticism and morality are explored in an example of the criticism implied, a tracing of the grounds for the perspective in contemporary American rhetorical studies, a discussion of the imperatives for the implied critical program, and consideration of the character of the involved rhetorical critic.