Rhetoric
Barilli has written a provocative and lively essay, tracing with astonishing rapidity and confidence theories of rhetoric from ancient to modern times. The exploration of theories that see rhetoric as a 'Mitglied', an intermediate entity which alone is able to bridge the gaps between truth and practical morality, between reason and prudence, between the world of thought and the world of things, is especially valuable, as is the eloquent chapter on Renaissance theory. The book is thus a distinguished and appropriate addition to the University of Minnesota's prestigious series on the Theory and History of Literature.
Ancient Philosophy
Renato Barilli brings to his work a full command of the Western humanistic tradition and a philosopher’s drive toward speculation. Both capacities are reflected in this book, a concise history of rhetoric from its origins in ancient Greece down to the media technologies of the late twentieth century. Since rhetoric has always impinged upon other domains, its history must be seen within the larger history of Western culture, its changing status understood in relation to the reigning discourses in any given epoch.
Barilli’s Rhetoric will serve as an introduction to the subject for students and as a standard reference for readers interested in literature, languages, media, politics and philosophy.
Barilli has written a provocative and lively essay, tracing with astonishing rapidity and confidence theories of rhetoric from ancient to modern times. The exploration of theories that see rhetoric as a 'Mitglied', an intermediate entity which alone is able to bridge the gaps between truth and practical morality, between reason and prudence, between the world of thought and the world of things, is especially valuable, as is the eloquent chapter on Renaissance theory. The book is thus a distinguished and appropriate addition to the University of Minnesota's prestigious series on the Theory and History of Literature.
Ancient Philosophy
