Beyond persuasion: rhetoric as a practical art in the life of a democratic citizen

• Grant number: 15/06279-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2015
• End date: December 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Fundamentals of Education
• Principal Investigator: Marcus Vinicius da Cunha
• Grantee: Tatiane da Silva
• Supervisor: Nathan Crick
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Texas A&M University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/04791-2 - Rhetorical analysis of the sophist influence in John Deweys philosophical and educational discourse, BP.DR

Abstract

The rhetoric has suffered a number of varieties of appreciation and understanding throughout history, however, its current sense is pejorative and synonym of an artificial, declamatory and false thing. Since the 20th century, the rhetoric has been reevaluated, becoming the object of studies that consider the worth of discursive techniques that produce the audience adhesion to the thesis submitted to their consent. At the same time, a reevaluation of conceptions and contributions of the Sophists to the Western thought has been occurring. Authors as Meyer, Cassin and Crick consider that the rhetoric goes beyond the idea of a persuasive tool; it is a practical art that helps to solve problems in a changing world. The Sophists' singular view on rhetoric influenced many thinkers, as John Dewey, whose notions of arts, communication, experience and democracy located him within a rhetorical universe. The central aim of this project is to develop studies about rhetoric, focusing on the way the Sophists defined and used this art, and the impact of this approach on their educational ideal; that will contribute to examine the educational proposes of John Dewey, the central theme of the doctoral research in progress. (AU)