Abstract
Freedom is a contested concept, at once bound up with and promising transcendence of social bonds. This article examines the understanding of freedom particular to rhetorical theory, a troubled freedom that is the negotiation of constraint. Articulating this concept in negotiation of Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca’s “universal audience,” the article explores a key implication of troubled freedom for the governance of human persons. Given that human personhood is a rhetorical phenomenon, that persons emerge in flows of tendentious discourse, the article urges a rhetorical approach to democratic constitution writing. Constitution should be composed to foster the rhetorical capabilities of demoi.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 195-215 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Advances in the History of Rhetoric |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Communication
- Linguistics and Language
- Literature and Literary Theory