1. The foundations of human thought and expression are essentially rational (objective, fact-based)
OR
2.The foundations of human thought and expression are essentially poetic (subjective, value-based)
Your job would be to pick one of those propositions and write a short paper defending it. This short paper should consist of two main parts: first, a summary and explanation of the worldview that you believe is most fundamental to human social experience. Here you summarize and illuminate the key ideas of your selected worldview (citing the original text, with page numbers, will help you greatly). Second, please also provide one substantial, concrete illustration (example, case) to support the proposition/worldview of your choosing. Please also keep in mind that an argument includes a claim, backed by evidence, with a grounding explanation of how the two go together. So please make sure to explain *how* the example/illustration you offer exhibits your chosen worldview. Descartes and Vico are musts, but beyond them, you may also consider Erasmus, Herrick, and trustworthy ‘outside’ sources (but please stay close to the fields of rhetoric/philosophy/poetics). I have also included a selection of a very helpful reading by Stanley Fish, called simply “Rhetoric.” He discusses two figures in the history of western thought, Serious Man and Rhetoric Man, which should help clarify the worldviews.
Citations that can be used
Descartes: (all information is on the first page of reading)
Vico, Giambattista. “On the Study of Methods of Our Time.” The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present. Edited by Patricia Bizzell and Bruce Herzberg. Bedford/St Martins, 2001. pp. 865-878.
Fish, Stanley. “Rhetoric.” Rhetoric in an Antifoundational World: Language, Culture and Pedagogy. Edited by Michael Bernard-Donals and Richard R. Glejzer. Yale University Press, 1998. pp. 33-64.
Also, here is a video that my teacher has made discussing the paper further.
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