Dr. Katherine HeenanEnglish 472Spring 2007March 27, 2007Vatz, Richard. "The Myth of the Rhetorical Situation," Philosophy and Rhetoric 6:3 (1973): 154-161. Writing in response to Bitzer and arguing that- Meaning is not intrinsic in events, facts, people or “situations,” nor are facts “publicly observable.”- We learn facts and events through someone’s communicating them to us- Rhetors translate chosen information into meaning in an act of creativity and interpretation- "No situation can have a nature independent of the perception of its interpreter or independent of the rhetoric with which he chooses to characterize it” (226).- No situation is separate from interpretation.- Since the speaker chooses his or her own discourse, a situation is based upon that speaker's point of view or perception. - Vatz states that a situation becomes an exigence because it is named as such.Three key components to the myth: - First, rhetors create the situation.- Second, the rhetor is responsible for what he chooses to make salient.- Third, when a rhetor fails to address a situation, it can go unnoticed even though it may require attention. The situation itself cannot construct the meaning alone. It requires theinterpretation of the rhetor to communicate and produce the meaning.Meaning-context relationshipBitzer: "virtually no utterance is fully intelligible unless meaning-context are understood" Vatz: "meaning is not discovered in situations, but created by rhetors"Is rhetorical situation determinate?Bitzer: Determinate: "it is the situation which calls for the discourse into existence" Vatz: Indeterminate: "the very choice of what facts or events are relevant is a matter of pure arbitration"Exigence Bitzer: "exigence strongly invites utterance " Vatz: "utterance strongly invites exigence"VatzFitting responseBitzer: "the situation controls the rhetorical response" Vatz: "the rhetoric controls the situational response"Implications for rhetoric- If meaning is viewed as intrinsic to situations, rhetorical study becomes parasitic to philosophy, poly sci and whatever other discipline can inform us as to what the “real” situation is- If, on the other hand, meaning is viewed as a consequence of rhetorical creation, your paramount concern will be with how and by whom symbols create the reality to which people react—rhetoric becomes of utmost import- If we accept Bitzer’s view that “the presence of rhetorical discourse obviously indicates the presence of a rhetorical situation, then we ascribe little responsibility to the rhetor with respect to what she has chosen to give salience.- On the other hand, if we view the communication of an event as a chose, interpretation,and translation, the rhetor’s responsibility is of supreme concern- To view rhetoric as a creation of reality or salience rather than a reflector of reality increases the rhetor’s moral