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Rating: 
Summary: A couple of detailed case studies of human motives
Review: "The Rhetoric of Religion" is the unofficial third volume in Burke's second trilogy (a claim also made by some for "Language As Symbolic Action"), following his "Rhetoric" and "Grammar of Motives," although it is clearly neither the summation nor the completion of his line of inquiry begun in those other volumes. What makes this volume stand out is more the applied use of his concepts than their theoretical development. Burke offers a short discussion on "On Words and The Word" before proceeding to a detailed analysis of verbal action in St. Augustine's "Confessions." For me the key section is his analysis of the first three chapters of Genesis, where he works backwards to explain the creation of the Creation story, the best explication of Burke's Iron Law of History. Returning to his literary roots, the final section finds Burke offering a conversation between God and Satan in "Prologue in Heaven," where Burke literally puts his case before the highest court. Ultimately, the point is one that Burke has sounded before: that we should not be using terminologies developed in laboratories for our study of human motives. Instead, Burke offers his theories of transcendence and the model of the symbolic act as developed over the previous four decades. Consequently, "The Rhetoric of Religion" is not a book with which to begin your inquiry into either Burke or the field of rhetoric and social theory, but rather the volume that provides a more practical application of his work. Like "Language As Symbolic Action," it should be read after going through his "Rhetoric" and "Grammar" volumes.
Rating:
Summary: A couple of detailed case studies of human motives
Review: "The Rhetoric of Religion" is the unofficial third volume in Burke's second trilogy (a claim also made by some for "Language As Symbolic Action"), following his "Rhetoric" and "Grammar of Motives," although it is clearly neither the summation nor the completion of his line of inquiry begun in those other volumes. What makes this volume stand out is more the applied use of his concepts than their theoretical development. Burke offers a short discussion on "On Words and The Word" before proceeding to a detailed analysis of verbal action in St. Augustine's "Confessions." For me the key section is his analysis of the first three chapters of Genesis, where he works backwards to explain the creation of the Creation story, the best explication of Burke's Iron Law of History. Returning to his literary roots, the final section finds Burke offering a conversation between God and Satan in "Prologue in Heaven," where Burke literally puts his case before the highest court. Ultimately, the point is one that Burke has sounded before: that we should not be using terminologies developed in laboratories for our study of human motives. Instead, Burke offers his theories of transcendence and the model of the symbolic act as developed over the previous four decades. Consequently, "The Rhetoric of Religion" is not a book with which to begin your inquiry into either Burke or the field of rhetoric and social theory, but rather the volume that provides a more practical application of his work. Like "Language As Symbolic Action," it should be read after going through his "Rhetoric" and "Grammar" volumes.
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