Heinrich Schenker
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195151510
- eISBN:
- 9780199871582
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195151510.003.0011
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition
This chapter contrasts the attitudes toward performance of late-romantic works of Schenker's own time with performance demands of older music and music by the great classical masters. Contrary to ...
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This chapter contrasts the attitudes toward performance of late-romantic works of Schenker's own time with performance demands of older music and music by the great classical masters. Contrary to general belief, it is shown shows that the greatest expressiveness and freedom are essential in the performance of older music in which, for example, passage work is an intrinsic part of the expressive content. The lost art of improvising and realizing a continuo bass is mentioned along with a discussion of characteristics of individual composers' works.Less
This chapter contrasts the attitudes toward performance of late-romantic works of Schenker's own time with performance demands of older music and music by the great classical masters. Contrary to general belief, it is shown shows that the greatest expressiveness and freedom are essential in the performance of older music in which, for example, passage work is an intrinsic part of the expressive content. The lost art of improvising and realizing a continuo bass is mentioned along with a discussion of characteristics of individual composers' works.
Tony Hunt
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198159148
- eISBN:
- 9780191673528
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198159148.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
Villon studies have traditionally emphasized the documentary and didactic value of the Testament, concentrating on problems of historical referentiality. It is assumed that the work has a significant ...
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Villon studies have traditionally emphasized the documentary and didactic value of the Testament, concentrating on problems of historical referentiality. It is assumed that the work has a significant autobiographical element and that it has much to tell us about life in fifteenth-century Paris. The Testament has thus been avidly exploited by historians of the period and its interest as a document is well-established. This study concentrates exclusively on the textual strategies of the Testament, in particular on rhetorical techniques involving dialogue and irony. The book views the Testament as ironic from start to finish, and the main objects of the irony are identified as language and authority. The dissolution of meaning, authority, and even authorial identity are seen to be the principal results of the poet's rhetoric.Less
Villon studies have traditionally emphasized the documentary and didactic value of the Testament, concentrating on problems of historical referentiality. It is assumed that the work has a significant autobiographical element and that it has much to tell us about life in fifteenth-century Paris. The Testament has thus been avidly exploited by historians of the period and its interest as a document is well-established. This study concentrates exclusively on the textual strategies of the Testament, in particular on rhetorical techniques involving dialogue and irony. The book views the Testament as ironic from start to finish, and the main objects of the irony are identified as language and authority. The dissolution of meaning, authority, and even authorial identity are seen to be the principal results of the poet's rhetoric.
Gianluca Raccagni
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264713
- eISBN:
- 9780191734847
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264713.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
The Lombard League was an association created by the city republics of northern Italy in the 12th century in order to defend their autonomy and that of the papacy in a struggle against the German ...
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The Lombard League was an association created by the city republics of northern Italy in the 12th century in order to defend their autonomy and that of the papacy in a struggle against the German Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The League has enjoyed an iconic status, and in the nineteenth century was glorified as a precursor of the Italian struggle for independence in political and historical pamphlets as well as in paintings, novels, and even operas. The League played a crucial role in the evolution of Italy’s political landscape, but it did more than ensure its continued fragmentation. Historiography, in fact, has overlooked the collegial cooperation among the medieval Italian polities and this volume examines the League’s structure, activity, place in political thought, and links with regional identities. Using documentary evidence, histories, letters, inscriptions, and contemporary troubadour poems as well as rhetorical and juridical treatises, the book argues that the League was not just a momentary anti-imperial military alliance, but a body that also provided collective approaches to regional problems, ranging from the peaceful resolution of disputes to the management of regional lines of communication, usurping, in some cases, imperial prerogatives. Yet the League never rejected imperial overlordship per se, and this book explains how it survived after the end of the conflict against Frederick I, one of its most lasting legacies being the settlement that it reached with the empire, the Peace of Constance, which became the Magna Carta of the northern Italian polities.Less
The Lombard League was an association created by the city republics of northern Italy in the 12th century in order to defend their autonomy and that of the papacy in a struggle against the German Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The League has enjoyed an iconic status, and in the nineteenth century was glorified as a precursor of the Italian struggle for independence in political and historical pamphlets as well as in paintings, novels, and even operas. The League played a crucial role in the evolution of Italy’s political landscape, but it did more than ensure its continued fragmentation. Historiography, in fact, has overlooked the collegial cooperation among the medieval Italian polities and this volume examines the League’s structure, activity, place in political thought, and links with regional identities. Using documentary evidence, histories, letters, inscriptions, and contemporary troubadour poems as well as rhetorical and juridical treatises, the book argues that the League was not just a momentary anti-imperial military alliance, but a body that also provided collective approaches to regional problems, ranging from the peaceful resolution of disputes to the management of regional lines of communication, usurping, in some cases, imperial prerogatives. Yet the League never rejected imperial overlordship per se, and this book explains how it survived after the end of the conflict against Frederick I, one of its most lasting legacies being the settlement that it reached with the empire, the Peace of Constance, which became the Magna Carta of the northern Italian polities.
Mary Douglas
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199245413
- eISBN:
- 9780191697463
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199245413.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This book is a classic work on the anthropology of the Book of Numbers. Up to now Bible scholars have tended to dismiss Numbers — Wellhausen called it the junk room of the Bible, and most ...
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This book is a classic work on the anthropology of the Book of Numbers. Up to now Bible scholars have tended to dismiss Numbers — Wellhausen called it the junk room of the Bible, and most contemporary commentaries feel called upon to say something about its apparent lack of coherence. This book argues that Numbers is composed of twelve alternating sections of law and narrative arranged in a ring, with each law and narrative section corresponding to its pair on the other side. Notes from a Hebrew scholar confirm the pattern by identifying objectively the beginnings and endings of law and narrative. On this showing Numbers turns out to be an extremely coherent example of a well-known antique rhetorical system. The meaning of the book comes out very differently according to whether it is read linearly or as written, synoptically. This book shows that Numbers is not heavy or obscure but reads like a detective story.Less
This book is a classic work on the anthropology of the Book of Numbers. Up to now Bible scholars have tended to dismiss Numbers — Wellhausen called it the junk room of the Bible, and most contemporary commentaries feel called upon to say something about its apparent lack of coherence. This book argues that Numbers is composed of twelve alternating sections of law and narrative arranged in a ring, with each law and narrative section corresponding to its pair on the other side. Notes from a Hebrew scholar confirm the pattern by identifying objectively the beginnings and endings of law and narrative. On this showing Numbers turns out to be an extremely coherent example of a well-known antique rhetorical system. The meaning of the book comes out very differently according to whether it is read linearly or as written, synoptically. This book shows that Numbers is not heavy or obscure but reads like a detective story.
Michael Hawcroft
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198159841
- eISBN:
- 9780191673726
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198159841.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, whether spoken or written. The first chapter of this book sets out its principles providing an easily-consulted outline of key terms and a wide range of ...
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Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, whether spoken or written. The first chapter of this book sets out its principles providing an easily-consulted outline of key terms and a wide range of illustrative examples. Subsequent chapters explore rhetoric at work in different genres, via close reading of texts which range from the drama of Moliere, Racine, and Beckett; Montaigne, Sevigne, and Gide on the self; the prose fiction of Laclos, Zola, and Sarraute; poetry by DʼAubigne, Baudelaire, and Cesaire; and the oratory of de Gaulle and Yourcenar. Rhetorical analysis uncovers subtleties and complexities in texts which emerge as exciting dramas of communication.Less
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, whether spoken or written. The first chapter of this book sets out its principles providing an easily-consulted outline of key terms and a wide range of illustrative examples. Subsequent chapters explore rhetoric at work in different genres, via close reading of texts which range from the drama of Moliere, Racine, and Beckett; Montaigne, Sevigne, and Gide on the self; the prose fiction of Laclos, Zola, and Sarraute; poetry by DʼAubigne, Baudelaire, and Cesaire; and the oratory of de Gaulle and Yourcenar. Rhetorical analysis uncovers subtleties and complexities in texts which emerge as exciting dramas of communication.
Berthold Rittberger
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199273423
- eISBN:
- 9780191602764
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199273421.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Develops a three-staged theory to explain why national governments have created and successively empowered the European Parliament. In a first step, it is argued that attempts by national governments ...
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Develops a three-staged theory to explain why national governments have created and successively empowered the European Parliament. In a first step, it is argued that attempts by national governments to transfer sovereignty to the EU-level in order to improve the problem-solving capacity of their domestic polities threaten to undermine domestic channels of interest representation and accountability. These challenges are commonly perceived by political elites in the member states as a ‘democratic legitimacy deficit’. In a second step, it is argued that the proposals political elites in different member states advance to alleviate the ‘democratic legitimacy deficit’ vary across and even within member states. In the final step, the chapter inquires how the different concerns about the ‘democratic legitimacy deficit’ affect the interaction among national governments during Treaty amending intergovernmental conferences. For each stage in the development of the theory, the chapter develops a set of hypotheses and observable implications. The hypotheses are subjected to empirical scrutiny in the ensuing chapters.Less
Develops a three-staged theory to explain why national governments have created and successively empowered the European Parliament. In a first step, it is argued that attempts by national governments to transfer sovereignty to the EU-level in order to improve the problem-solving capacity of their domestic polities threaten to undermine domestic channels of interest representation and accountability. These challenges are commonly perceived by political elites in the member states as a ‘democratic legitimacy deficit’. In a second step, it is argued that the proposals political elites in different member states advance to alleviate the ‘democratic legitimacy deficit’ vary across and even within member states. In the final step, the chapter inquires how the different concerns about the ‘democratic legitimacy deficit’ affect the interaction among national governments during Treaty amending intergovernmental conferences. For each stage in the development of the theory, the chapter develops a set of hypotheses and observable implications. The hypotheses are subjected to empirical scrutiny in the ensuing chapters.
Eugene V. Gallagher
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195177299
- eISBN:
- 9780199785537
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177299.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Students frequently come to classes about new religious movements disinclined to take them seriously as legitimate religions. Borrowing from literature about race and diversity in the classroom and ...
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Students frequently come to classes about new religious movements disinclined to take them seriously as legitimate religions. Borrowing from literature about race and diversity in the classroom and using Peter Elbow's description of methodological doubt and methodological belief as analytical tools, this chapter discusses strategies for overcoming student resistance to taking NRMs seriously as religions. It is argued that the rigorous cultivation of methodological belief as an approach to the study of NRMs offers an effective way to dissipate some negative effects of stereotypes of NRMs and develop adequate descriptions of them. Advocating a rhetorical model of teaching, the chapter provides examples of active learning assignments and offers suggestions about course design that can make the politics of representation of NRMs a continuing topic for class discussions.Less
Students frequently come to classes about new religious movements disinclined to take them seriously as legitimate religions. Borrowing from literature about race and diversity in the classroom and using Peter Elbow's description of methodological doubt and methodological belief as analytical tools, this chapter discusses strategies for overcoming student resistance to taking NRMs seriously as religions. It is argued that the rigorous cultivation of methodological belief as an approach to the study of NRMs offers an effective way to dissipate some negative effects of stereotypes of NRMs and develop adequate descriptions of them. Advocating a rhetorical model of teaching, the chapter provides examples of active learning assignments and offers suggestions about course design that can make the politics of representation of NRMs a continuing topic for class discussions.
Peter Van Nuffelen
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199655274
- eISBN:
- 9780191745232
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199655274.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
The Histories against the pagans of Orosius, written in 416/7, has been one of the most influential works in the history of Western historiography. Often read as a theology of history, it has rarely ...
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The Histories against the pagans of Orosius, written in 416/7, has been one of the most influential works in the history of Western historiography. Often read as a theology of history, it has rarely been set against the background of ancient historiography and rhetorical practice in the fourth and fifth centuries ad. Arguing for the closeness of rhetoric and historiography in Antiquity, this book shows how Orosius situates himself consciously in the classical tradition and draws on a variety of rhetorical tools to shape his narrative, such as a subtle web of intertextual allusions, in particular to Vergil, a critical engagement with traditional exempla, a creative rewriting of the sources, and a skilled deployment of the rhetoric of pathos. These tools serve to counteract the ideological content of traditional education and to show that the traditional, glorious view of the Roman past, still harboured by pagan and Christian intellectuals in the fifth century, is not correct. In doing so, Orosius’ argument is close to that of the City of God of Augustine, to whom the Histories are dedicated. Arguing for an intellectual proximity to Augustine, the book shows that they differ on a different topic than often assumed: Orosius is not a naïve apologist of the Roman empire, but, unlike Augustine, he has confidence in the positive effect the Church has on human society.Less
The Histories against the pagans of Orosius, written in 416/7, has been one of the most influential works in the history of Western historiography. Often read as a theology of history, it has rarely been set against the background of ancient historiography and rhetorical practice in the fourth and fifth centuries ad. Arguing for the closeness of rhetoric and historiography in Antiquity, this book shows how Orosius situates himself consciously in the classical tradition and draws on a variety of rhetorical tools to shape his narrative, such as a subtle web of intertextual allusions, in particular to Vergil, a critical engagement with traditional exempla, a creative rewriting of the sources, and a skilled deployment of the rhetoric of pathos. These tools serve to counteract the ideological content of traditional education and to show that the traditional, glorious view of the Roman past, still harboured by pagan and Christian intellectuals in the fifth century, is not correct. In doing so, Orosius’ argument is close to that of the City of God of Augustine, to whom the Histories are dedicated. Arguing for an intellectual proximity to Augustine, the book shows that they differ on a different topic than often assumed: Orosius is not a naïve apologist of the Roman empire, but, unlike Augustine, he has confidence in the positive effect the Church has on human society.
Ian Carter
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294535
- eISBN:
- 9780191598951
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294530.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Most of those political philosophers who have tried to make sense of claims about degrees of freedom have proposed that the individual options available to the agent be weighted in terms of their ...
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Most of those political philosophers who have tried to make sense of claims about degrees of freedom have proposed that the individual options available to the agent be weighted in terms of their values (whether the subjective values of the agent, objective values or the values of the agent’s society). Most prominent among these authors are Charles Taylor, Amartya Sen, Richard Arneson and Richard Norman. This value-based approach to measuring freedom can be shown to conflict with the view that we are interested in measuring freedom only because freedom has non-specific value. It therefore renders degree-of-freedom statements normatively superfluous. Moreover, even if interpreted as a way of making purely rhetorical sense of such statements, the approach has counterintuitive implications.Less
Most of those political philosophers who have tried to make sense of claims about degrees of freedom have proposed that the individual options available to the agent be weighted in terms of their values (whether the subjective values of the agent, objective values or the values of the agent’s society). Most prominent among these authors are Charles Taylor, Amartya Sen, Richard Arneson and Richard Norman. This value-based approach to measuring freedom can be shown to conflict with the view that we are interested in measuring freedom only because freedom has non-specific value. It therefore renders degree-of-freedom statements normatively superfluous. Moreover, even if interpreted as a way of making purely rhetorical sense of such statements, the approach has counterintuitive implications.
Malcolm Heath
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199259205
- eISBN:
- 9780191717932
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259205.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter considers the nature of the technical literature on rhetorical theory and its relationship to teaching. It begins by addressing problems about the composition and transmission of these ...
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This chapter considers the nature of the technical literature on rhetorical theory and its relationship to teaching. It begins by addressing problems about the composition and transmission of these texts. Evidence from Galen shows that technical literature was composed in a variety of ways and for many different purposes; its public circulation did not always involve formal publication. The diversity of the technical literature on rhetoric confirms this complicated picture. Its composition may have involved dictation, perhaps assisted by shorthand, or reconstruction of lectures from the notes or memories of students. Although the texts were not necessarily addressed to students, they were designed to inform rhetorical training, at least indirectly.Less
This chapter considers the nature of the technical literature on rhetorical theory and its relationship to teaching. It begins by addressing problems about the composition and transmission of these texts. Evidence from Galen shows that technical literature was composed in a variety of ways and for many different purposes; its public circulation did not always involve formal publication. The diversity of the technical literature on rhetoric confirms this complicated picture. Its composition may have involved dictation, perhaps assisted by shorthand, or reconstruction of lectures from the notes or memories of students. Although the texts were not necessarily addressed to students, they were designed to inform rhetorical training, at least indirectly.
Robert J. Fogelin
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199739998
- eISBN:
- 9780199895045
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199739998.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Figuratively Speaking (1986) examines figures of speech that concern meaning—irony, hyperbole, understatement, similes, metaphors, and others—to show how they work and to explain their ...
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Figuratively Speaking (1986) examines figures of speech that concern meaning—irony, hyperbole, understatement, similes, metaphors, and others—to show how they work and to explain their attraction. Building on the ideas of Paul Grice and Amos Tversky, this work shows how figurative language derives its power from its insistence that the reader participate in the text, looking beyond the literal meaning of the figurative language to the meanings that are implied. With examples ranging from Shakespeare, John Donne, and Jane Austen to e.e. cummings, Bessie Smith, and Monty Python, this work shows that the intellectual and aesthetic force of figurative language is not derived from inherent magical power, but instead from the opportunity it provides for unlimited elaboration in the hands of those gifted in its use. A distinctive feature of this work is that it presents a modern restatement of the view, first put forward by Aristotle, that metaphors are to be treated as elliptical similes. In a generalized form, this restatement of the Aristotelian view treats both metaphors and similes (and a number of other tropes) as figurative comparisons. The book then offers a detailed defense of this “comparativist” view of metaphors in response to the almost universal rejection of it by eminent philosophers. This new edition has extended the notion of figurative comparisons to cover synecdoche. It also ventures into new territory by considering two genres, fables and satires.Less
Figuratively Speaking (1986) examines figures of speech that concern meaning—irony, hyperbole, understatement, similes, metaphors, and others—to show how they work and to explain their attraction. Building on the ideas of Paul Grice and Amos Tversky, this work shows how figurative language derives its power from its insistence that the reader participate in the text, looking beyond the literal meaning of the figurative language to the meanings that are implied. With examples ranging from Shakespeare, John Donne, and Jane Austen to e.e. cummings, Bessie Smith, and Monty Python, this work shows that the intellectual and aesthetic force of figurative language is not derived from inherent magical power, but instead from the opportunity it provides for unlimited elaboration in the hands of those gifted in its use. A distinctive feature of this work is that it presents a modern restatement of the view, first put forward by Aristotle, that metaphors are to be treated as elliptical similes. In a generalized form, this restatement of the Aristotelian view treats both metaphors and similes (and a number of other tropes) as figurative comparisons. The book then offers a detailed defense of this “comparativist” view of metaphors in response to the almost universal rejection of it by eminent philosophers. This new edition has extended the notion of figurative comparisons to cover synecdoche. It also ventures into new territory by considering two genres, fables and satires.
Eleni Kechagia
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199597239
- eISBN:
- 9780191731495
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199597239.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This Epilogue summarises the main outcomes of the analysis of the Adversus Colotem. It argues that Plutarch's refutation of Colotes is neither simply a rhetorical exercise nor just a fervent ...
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This Epilogue summarises the main outcomes of the analysis of the Adversus Colotem. It argues that Plutarch's refutation of Colotes is neither simply a rhetorical exercise nor just a fervent anti-Epicurean pamphlet by a dedicated Platonist. By responding to Colotes, Plutarch had the chance both to highlight the errors of the Epicurean philosophy and to offer a critical survey of the main philosophical theories of the past. The Adversus Colotem emerges as Plutarch's ‘masterclass’ on how to do philosophy and how to read, engage with and critically assess the philosophical past.Less
This Epilogue summarises the main outcomes of the analysis of the Adversus Colotem. It argues that Plutarch's refutation of Colotes is neither simply a rhetorical exercise nor just a fervent anti-Epicurean pamphlet by a dedicated Platonist. By responding to Colotes, Plutarch had the chance both to highlight the errors of the Epicurean philosophy and to offer a critical survey of the main philosophical theories of the past. The Adversus Colotem emerges as Plutarch's ‘masterclass’ on how to do philosophy and how to read, engage with and critically assess the philosophical past.
JILL RUSSELL and TRISHA GREENHALGH
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264843
- eISBN:
- 9780191754050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264843.003.0010
- Subject:
- Sociology, Methodology and Statistics
This chapter describes a study undertaken as part of the UCL Evidence programme to explore how policymakers talk about and reason with evidence. Specifically, researchers were interested in the ...
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This chapter describes a study undertaken as part of the UCL Evidence programme to explore how policymakers talk about and reason with evidence. Specifically, researchers were interested in the micro-processes of deliberation and meaning-making practices of a group of people charged with prioritising health care in an NHS Primary Care Trust in the UK. The chapter describes how the research study brought together ideas from rhetorical theory and methods of discourse analysis to develop an innovative approach to exploring how evidence is constituted at the micro-level of social interaction and communication. It presents empirical data to illuminate the representation and meaning of evidence within one particular policymaking forum, and to highlight contrasting constructions of the policymaking process.Less
This chapter describes a study undertaken as part of the UCL Evidence programme to explore how policymakers talk about and reason with evidence. Specifically, researchers were interested in the micro-processes of deliberation and meaning-making practices of a group of people charged with prioritising health care in an NHS Primary Care Trust in the UK. The chapter describes how the research study brought together ideas from rhetorical theory and methods of discourse analysis to develop an innovative approach to exploring how evidence is constituted at the micro-level of social interaction and communication. It presents empirical data to illuminate the representation and meaning of evidence within one particular policymaking forum, and to highlight contrasting constructions of the policymaking process.
Christopher Janaway
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199279692
- eISBN:
- 9780191707407
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279692.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This book presents a full commentary on Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morality and combines close reading of key passages with an overview of Nietzsche's wider aims. It argues that Nietzsche's ...
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This book presents a full commentary on Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morality and combines close reading of key passages with an overview of Nietzsche's wider aims. It argues that Nietzsche's practice of genealogy pursues psychological and historical truths concerning the origins of modern moral values, but also emphasizes the significance of his rhetorical methods as an instrument of persuasion. Nietzsche's outlook is broadly one of naturalism, but he is critical of typical scientific and philosophical methods for their advocacy of impersonality and suppression of the affects. Nietzsche's principal opponents are Schopenhauer and Paul Rée, both of whom account for morality in terms of selflessness. Nietzsche believes that our allegiance to a post-Christian morality that centres around selflessness, compassion, guilt, and denial of the instincts is not primarily rational but affective: underlying feelings, often ambivalent and poorly grasped in conscious thought, explain our moral beliefs. The Genealogy is designed to detach the reader from his or her allegiance to morality and prepare for the possibility of new values. According to Nietzsche's ‘perspectivism’, this book argues that one can best understand a topic such as morality through allowing as many of one's feelings as possible to speak about it. And Nietzsche's further aim is to enable us to ‘feel differently’: to this end his provocation of the reader's affects both helps us grasp the affective origins of our attitudes and prepares the way for healthier values such as the affirmation of life and the self-satisfaction to be attained by ‘giving style to one's character’.Less
This book presents a full commentary on Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morality and combines close reading of key passages with an overview of Nietzsche's wider aims. It argues that Nietzsche's practice of genealogy pursues psychological and historical truths concerning the origins of modern moral values, but also emphasizes the significance of his rhetorical methods as an instrument of persuasion. Nietzsche's outlook is broadly one of naturalism, but he is critical of typical scientific and philosophical methods for their advocacy of impersonality and suppression of the affects. Nietzsche's principal opponents are Schopenhauer and Paul Rée, both of whom account for morality in terms of selflessness. Nietzsche believes that our allegiance to a post-Christian morality that centres around selflessness, compassion, guilt, and denial of the instincts is not primarily rational but affective: underlying feelings, often ambivalent and poorly grasped in conscious thought, explain our moral beliefs. The Genealogy is designed to detach the reader from his or her allegiance to morality and prepare for the possibility of new values. According to Nietzsche's ‘perspectivism’, this book argues that one can best understand a topic such as morality through allowing as many of one's feelings as possible to speak about it. And Nietzsche's further aim is to enable us to ‘feel differently’: to this end his provocation of the reader's affects both helps us grasp the affective origins of our attitudes and prepares the way for healthier values such as the affirmation of life and the self-satisfaction to be attained by ‘giving style to one's character’.
Christopher Janaway
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199279692
- eISBN:
- 9780191707407
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279692.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter gives a section-by-section commentary on the Preface to the Genealogy. It includes comment on Nietzsche's opening theme of the impossibility of self-knowledge among ‘we knowers’, arguing ...
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This chapter gives a section-by-section commentary on the Preface to the Genealogy. It includes comment on Nietzsche's opening theme of the impossibility of self-knowledge among ‘we knowers’, arguing that the group in question here is philosophers or scholars. The use of various rhetorical devices is examined — selective autobiography to define his position as unique and consistent, irony, metaphor, heightened emotional tone, the alleged ‘unreadability’ of his writings. The chapter highlights conceptions of the self that Nietzsche alludes to, his statement of the origins and purposes of his book — investigating the origins of our morality and preparing to call them into question in the interests of furthering the flourishing of humanity — and provides some background orientation on the disagreements with Schopenhauer and Rée that Nietzsche especially mentions. Selflessness emerges as the definitive feature of the morality Nietzsche attacks.Less
This chapter gives a section-by-section commentary on the Preface to the Genealogy. It includes comment on Nietzsche's opening theme of the impossibility of self-knowledge among ‘we knowers’, arguing that the group in question here is philosophers or scholars. The use of various rhetorical devices is examined — selective autobiography to define his position as unique and consistent, irony, metaphor, heightened emotional tone, the alleged ‘unreadability’ of his writings. The chapter highlights conceptions of the self that Nietzsche alludes to, his statement of the origins and purposes of his book — investigating the origins of our morality and preparing to call them into question in the interests of furthering the flourishing of humanity — and provides some background orientation on the disagreements with Schopenhauer and Rée that Nietzsche especially mentions. Selflessness emerges as the definitive feature of the morality Nietzsche attacks.
Georg Petzl
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197265062
- eISBN:
- 9780191754173
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265062.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
Part I of this chapter reviews its subject historically, showing how inscriptions allow us to see the development of the Greek dialects, the effects on Greek of contact with other languages, ...
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Part I of this chapter reviews its subject historically, showing how inscriptions allow us to see the development of the Greek dialects, the effects on Greek of contact with other languages, especially Latin, and the ways in which styles of utterance and uses of language changed through time. Part II, a brief systematic review, illustrates three modes of language: poetry, with illustrations from funerary epigrams much influenced by Homer and the dramatists; prose, with its range of variations by genre and by degree of rhetorical influence, but also very directly in the form of precise citations of words and phrases used in assemblies; and Kunstprosa, the blend of prose and poetry, illustrated by the style and vocabulary of the inscription of Antiochos I of Commagene on his monument at Nemrud Dagh in South East Turkey.Less
Part I of this chapter reviews its subject historically, showing how inscriptions allow us to see the development of the Greek dialects, the effects on Greek of contact with other languages, especially Latin, and the ways in which styles of utterance and uses of language changed through time. Part II, a brief systematic review, illustrates three modes of language: poetry, with illustrations from funerary epigrams much influenced by Homer and the dramatists; prose, with its range of variations by genre and by degree of rhetorical influence, but also very directly in the form of precise citations of words and phrases used in assemblies; and Kunstprosa, the blend of prose and poetry, illustrated by the style and vocabulary of the inscription of Antiochos I of Commagene on his monument at Nemrud Dagh in South East Turkey.
Heinrich Schenker
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195151510
- eISBN:
- 9780199871582
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195151510.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition
This chapter argues that dynamic markings cannot always be understood purely quantitatively (i.e., loud or soft), and that their meanings are not absolute. They may indicate states of emotion, ...
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This chapter argues that dynamic markings cannot always be understood purely quantitatively (i.e., loud or soft), and that their meanings are not absolute. They may indicate states of emotion, tension/relaxation, etc. Many examples from piano, orchestral, and string quartet repertoire demonstrate a whole range of possibilities. Specific indications and their varied usage in different historic periods are shown, as is the importance of nuances within any dynamic range. The chapter coins some descriptive terms such as “Rahmenanschlag” and shows instances of the pedal's essential role.Less
This chapter argues that dynamic markings cannot always be understood purely quantitatively (i.e., loud or soft), and that their meanings are not absolute. They may indicate states of emotion, tension/relaxation, etc. Many examples from piano, orchestral, and string quartet repertoire demonstrate a whole range of possibilities. Specific indications and their varied usage in different historic periods are shown, as is the importance of nuances within any dynamic range. The chapter coins some descriptive terms such as “Rahmenanschlag” and shows instances of the pedal's essential role.
Malcolm Heath
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199259205
- eISBN:
- 9780191717932
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259205.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book reassesses the late 3rd-century Greek rhetorician Menander of Laodicea (Menander Rhetor). Menander is generally regarded as a specialist in epideictic, as such, he is often considered an ...
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This book reassesses the late 3rd-century Greek rhetorician Menander of Laodicea (Menander Rhetor). Menander is generally regarded as a specialist in epideictic, as such, he is often considered an exemplary rhetorician of an age which saw the triumph of epideictic eloquence. But detailed examination of the fragments shows that he was an expert on judicial and deliberative oratory whose most influential work was a commentary on Demosthenes. Source-critical analysis of the Demosthenes scholia shows that his commentary can be partially reconstructed. The book presents its reassessment of Menander’s significance in the context of a new reconstruction of the history of later Greek rhetoric, ranging from the theoretical innovations of the 2nd century AD to the comparatively unknown sophists of 5th-century Alexandria. Particular attention is given to the evolving structure of the rhetorical curriculum and to the practices of the rhetorical education, with an emphasis on the practical orientation of training in rhetoric and its predominant focus on techniques of forensic and deliberative oratory. These characteristics of rhetorical teaching raise questions about the nature and functions of rhetoric in this period. It is argued that rhetoric was concerned fundamentally with teaching students how to devise arguments and articulate them in a persuasive way, and that these skills still had a direct application in the subsequent careers of the rhetoricians’ pupils.Less
This book reassesses the late 3rd-century Greek rhetorician Menander of Laodicea (Menander Rhetor). Menander is generally regarded as a specialist in epideictic, as such, he is often considered an exemplary rhetorician of an age which saw the triumph of epideictic eloquence. But detailed examination of the fragments shows that he was an expert on judicial and deliberative oratory whose most influential work was a commentary on Demosthenes. Source-critical analysis of the Demosthenes scholia shows that his commentary can be partially reconstructed. The book presents its reassessment of Menander’s significance in the context of a new reconstruction of the history of later Greek rhetoric, ranging from the theoretical innovations of the 2nd century AD to the comparatively unknown sophists of 5th-century Alexandria. Particular attention is given to the evolving structure of the rhetorical curriculum and to the practices of the rhetorical education, with an emphasis on the practical orientation of training in rhetoric and its predominant focus on techniques of forensic and deliberative oratory. These characteristics of rhetorical teaching raise questions about the nature and functions of rhetoric in this period. It is argued that rhetoric was concerned fundamentally with teaching students how to devise arguments and articulate them in a persuasive way, and that these skills still had a direct application in the subsequent careers of the rhetoricians’ pupils.
Malcolm Heath
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263235
- eISBN:
- 9780191734328
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263235.003.0017
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The book's concluding study presents the rhetorical education of the fourth century ad, not as the end but as only midway in the literary culture of Hellas, between Homer and the Byzantine emperor ...
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The book's concluding study presents the rhetorical education of the fourth century ad, not as the end but as only midway in the literary culture of Hellas, between Homer and the Byzantine emperor Manuel Palaeologus. The first section of this chapter examines the rhetoric from Homer to Byzantium, from the Iliad to Emperor Manuel II. The second section considers mid-antiquity's pivotal significance, when the Roman empire of Manuel — Greek, Christian and detached from Rome — began to take root. The third section examines a lengthy passage from the scholia to Demosthenes' speech On the False Embassy. The lecturer deploys, in what may seem obsessive detail, the formidably elaborate apparatus of contemporary rhetorical theory. The fourth section notes that his contemporaries and successors saw Menander primarily as a specialist in the kind of minute analysis of forensic and deliberative oratory.Less
The book's concluding study presents the rhetorical education of the fourth century ad, not as the end but as only midway in the literary culture of Hellas, between Homer and the Byzantine emperor Manuel Palaeologus. The first section of this chapter examines the rhetoric from Homer to Byzantium, from the Iliad to Emperor Manuel II. The second section considers mid-antiquity's pivotal significance, when the Roman empire of Manuel — Greek, Christian and detached from Rome — began to take root. The third section examines a lengthy passage from the scholia to Demosthenes' speech On the False Embassy. The lecturer deploys, in what may seem obsessive detail, the formidably elaborate apparatus of contemporary rhetorical theory. The fourth section notes that his contemporaries and successors saw Menander primarily as a specialist in the kind of minute analysis of forensic and deliberative oratory.
Andrew Lintott
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199216444
- eISBN:
- 9780191712180
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216444.003.0009
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
Cicero's method when defending in the repetundae court was to discount testimony rather than to examine evidence. He sought to portray his client as a good man defending Rome's empire against hostile ...
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Cicero's method when defending in the repetundae court was to discount testimony rather than to examine evidence. He sought to portray his client as a good man defending Rome's empire against hostile foreigners. This chapter considers cases that required a different approach. The facts were often well known, at least in general terms, and the prosecution was supported by Roman witnesses whose character could not be casually denigrated. On the other hand, there was more scope for arguing about the interpretation of the law and of the defendants' actions in relation to the law. The difference between rhetorical strategies in different public courts has been well characterized. It was not just a question of variation in the quantity and quality of evidence for different charges: it depended on the nature of the offence. In cases where the political element was stronger, the definition of the offence had been left vague, even ambiguous, by the legislator — probably deliberately, because the judgement was expected to be political, rather than purely criminal. Here, there was more opportunity for defending counsel to argue, not merely that his client was a ‘good man’, but that the actions of his that were being prosecuted were justifiable.Less
Cicero's method when defending in the repetundae court was to discount testimony rather than to examine evidence. He sought to portray his client as a good man defending Rome's empire against hostile foreigners. This chapter considers cases that required a different approach. The facts were often well known, at least in general terms, and the prosecution was supported by Roman witnesses whose character could not be casually denigrated. On the other hand, there was more scope for arguing about the interpretation of the law and of the defendants' actions in relation to the law. The difference between rhetorical strategies in different public courts has been well characterized. It was not just a question of variation in the quantity and quality of evidence for different charges: it depended on the nature of the offence. In cases where the political element was stronger, the definition of the offence had been left vague, even ambiguous, by the legislator — probably deliberately, because the judgement was expected to be political, rather than purely criminal. Here, there was more opportunity for defending counsel to argue, not merely that his client was a ‘good man’, but that the actions of his that were being prosecuted were justifiable.
