Rhetoric and Bullshit (original) (raw)

Abstract

The theory of bullshit put forth by philosopher Harry Frankfurt needs to be critiqued from the perspective of rhetorical theory, which can take into account how the identification of bullshit involves analyzing speaker, content, and audience as well as the interactions of these elements. More specifically, bullshit can be seen as an indifferent tampering with conventions of politeness, which makes it the antithesis of the kind of rhetoric we should teach.

© 2011 by the National Council of Teachers of English

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/content/journals/10.58680/ce201113400

2011-01-01

2026-05-10

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