Dr. Katherine HeenanEnglish 472Spring 2007March 22, 2007Bitzer, Lloyd. "The Rhetorical Situation." Philosophy and Rhetoric, 1 (January, 1968), 1-14.- Marks a turning point in the US study of rhetorical theory- Sets out to define rhetoric as discourse responsive to a particular kind of situation View of Rhetoric- For Bitzer, rhetoric is action.- He defines rhetoric as "A mode of altering reality, not by the direct application of energy to objects, but by the creation of discourse which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action."- "Language is a mode of action and not an instrument of reflection." - You have to understand rhetoric in its context; it's meaningless outside of the circumstances that created it.- Rhetoric is pragmatic; it has practical things to do. It is primarily concerned with getting things done:A work of rhetoric is pragmatic; it comes into existence for the sake of something beyond itself; it functions ultimately to produce action or change in the world; it performs some task. In short, rhetoric is a mode of altering reality, not by the direct application of energy to objects, but by the creation of discourse which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action (3-4)- Rhetoric is always persuasive.- With this view of rhetoric in mind, Bitzer then proposes that rhetorical “discourse comes into existence because of some specific condition or situation which invites utterance” (4). The Rhetorical Situation described- To understand rhetoric, you have to understand some thing about the situations that create it.- Bitzer defines the "rhetorical situation" aso "A complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action so as to bring about significant modification of the exigence."o It has three components.o Exigence "an imperfection marked by urgency; it is a defect, an obstacle, something waiting to be done, a thing which is other than it should be" (6) It is situation that causes a need for rhetoric (or utterancy----Something that stands in the way of something desirable getting done which can be rectified through utterance This is the problem or inadequacy you want to correct with your message. He distinguishes between exigences that are rhetorical and those that arenot. An exigence is only rhetorical if it can be altered by discourse:BitzerAn exigence is "rhetorical when it is capable of positive modification and when positive modification requires discourse or can be assisted by discourse" (6-7). This means a situation is not rhetorical if:- It cannot be modified.- It can be modified only by means other than discourse, like medicine or money, for instance. There is always at least one controlling exigence in a rhetorical situation. Bitzer uses the national crisis arising directly after the assassination of JFK as an example of rhetorical exigence—speeches by LBJ and others helped to calm or improve the situation rhetorically. Audience "Properly speaking, a rhetorical audience consists only those persons who are capable of being influenced by discourse and of being mediators of change" (8). Those who can affect the situation if adequately and properly affected by the utterance (universal/particular--those capable of being influenced and those capable of influencing)- This means that the audience is more than just people who hear your message- The audience, in this sense, is made up of those people who could be changed by your message and who could make changes because of it.- Constraints- “besides exigence and audience, every rhetorical situation contains a set of constraints made up of persons, events, objects and relations which are parts or elements of the situation because they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence” i.e., beliefs, attitudes, documents, facts, traditions, images, interests, motives, etc. that stand in the way of the audience responding properly (i.e., fittingly) to the exigence (8).o According to Bitzer, the constraints refer to two main categories: those that are internal to the rhetor, and those which are external. Internal constraints include personal beliefs, ideologies, physical limitations—anything that can be directly attributed to the speaker. External constraints refer to the environment and audience, i.e. their beliefs, frame of mind during the discourse, physical and psychological environment of the audience .o Constraints are tools that the speaker can use to help make changes.o Some constraints are originated by the speaker (Aristotle called them artistic proofs: logos, pathos and ethos).o Some constraints come from the situation (Aristotle called these inartistic proofs, like testimony and other facts).o Therefore one’s own rhetorical abilities is a constraint as is available evidence, possible arguments, audience beliefs, etc.o Characteristics of rhetoric that is sensitive to its situation. "Rhetorical discourse is called into existence by thesituation...out of necessity."2Bitzer The rhetorical situation "invites a fitting response,” that is, the rhetorical situation actually “dictates” or “prescribes” the response to it "Situations come into existence, then either mature and decay or mature and persist." Thus not all discourse is rhetorical.- One of the components could be missing--no audience, no exigence that can be modified by discourse, no audiencethat can act. Scientific and poetic discourse are not rhetorical.- There can be communication without rhetoric.In Bitzer’s description, both the audience and the orator bring sets of constraints to the situation,with the orator bringing “his personal character, his logical proofs, and his style” (8). According to Bitzer, “These three constituents – exigence, audience, constraints – comprise everything relevant in a rhetorical situation” (8).What Bitzer says that he doesn't mean:- Not merely that context is important.- Not merely that speaker, audience, subject, purpose interact.- Not merely that rhetoric=persuasion.- Not merely that the discourse is rooted in historic context.He also offers a number of “general characteristics or features” of the rhetorical situation (9). These are listed as follows:1. Rhetorical discourse is called into existence by situation;