Tag Archives: dialectic

This tension between the rhetorical (one-shot testifying) and the dialectic (extended argument intended to discover new conclusions) is at least as old as the ancient Greeks and has been a staple of academic consideration from the beginning.

The problem is that market forces are not conducive to extended conversations. If your last book sells you get a shot at the next one; otherwise, you’re out of luck and looking for a new publisher. The mechanics of markets tend to push more toward the rhetorical extreme—you have to make the biggest splash you can and deliver the entire conceptual payload in a single go. Continue reading →