An other ethics for Kenneth Burke

Abstract

This essay identifies deflections of the Other in the rhetorical theory of Kenneth Burke, and introduces the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas as a supplement and corrective. These deflections are demonstrated in Burke's “definition of man” and dramatistic pentad, and those theoretical constructs are reformulated. Specifically, a definition of human beings and dramatistic nonad are offered in order to foreground the Other. These reformulations strengthen the epistemological, ontological and ethical status of Burke's rhetorical theory, and empower Burke's rhetorical theory to be deployed as an ethical‐rhetorical criticism focused upon the position of the Other in discursive interactions.