リチャード・ウィーバー
In The Ethics of Rhetoric, Weaver evaluates the ability of rhetoric to persuade. Similarly to ancient philosophers, Weaver found that language has the power to move people to do good, to do evil, or to do nothing at all. In his defense of orthodoxy, Weaver set down a number of rhetorical principles. He grounded his definition of "noble rhetoric" in the work of Plato; such rhetoric aimed to improve intellect by presenting men with "better versions of themselves". He also agreed with Plato's notions of the realities of transcendentals (recall Weaver's hostility to nominalism) and the connection between form and substance. For instance, Weaver admired the connection between the forms of poetry and rhetoric. Like poetry, rhetoric relies on the connotation of words as well as their denotation. Good rhetoricians, he asserted, use poetic analogies to relate abstract ideas directly to the listeners. Specifically emphasizing metaphor, he found that comparison should be an essential part of the rhetorical process. However, arguments from definition—that is, from the very nature of things (justice, beauty, the nature of man) -- had an even higher ethical status, because they were grounded in essences rather than similarities. Arguments grounded in mere circumstance ("I have to quit school because I cannot afford the tuition") Weaver viewed as the least ethical, because they grant the immediate facts a higher status than principle. Finally, Weaver pointed out that arguments from authority are only as good as the authority itself.
In Language is Sermonic, Weaver pointed to rhetoric as a presentation of values. Sermonic language seeks to persuade the listener, and is inherent in all communication. Indeed, the very choice to present arguments from definition instead of from consequence implies that one of the modes of reason carries greater value. He also considered rhetoric and the multiplicity of man. That is, he acknowledged that logic alone was not enough to persuade man, who is "a pathetic being, that is, a being feeling and suffering". He felt that societies that placed great value on technology often became dehumanized. Like a machine relying purely on logic, the rhetorician was in danger of becoming "a thinking robot".
Weaver divided the nature of man into four categories: rational, emotional, ethical, and religious. Without considering these characteristics as a whole, rhetoricians cannot hope to persuade their listeners. Moreover, when motivating the listener to adopt attitudes and actions, rhetoricians must consider the uniqueness of each audience. In other words, orators should acknowledge that each audience has different needs and responses, and must formulate their arguments accordingly. Weaver also divided "argumentation" into four categories: cause-effect, definition, consequences, and circumstances. The rhetorician must decide which method of argument will best persuade a given audience.
In his The Ethics of Rhetoric, Weaver coined the phrases "god terms" and "devil terms". "God terms" are words particular to a certain age and are vague, but have "inherent potency" in their meanings. Such words include progress and freedom – words that seem impenetrable and automatically give a phrase positive meaning. In contrast, "devil terms" are the mirror image, and include words such as Communist and Un-American. Rhetoric, Weaver argued, must employ such terminology only with care. Employing ethical rhetoric is the first step towards rejecting vague terminology with propagandistic value. Upon hearing a "god" or "devil" term, Weaver suggested that a listener should "hold a dialectic with himself" to consider the intention behind such persuasive words. He concluded that "a society's health or declension was mirrored in how it used language". If a language is pure, so too will be those who employ it.
『The Southern Tradition at Bay』は、ウィーバーの最高傑作とする説がある。『Ideas Have Consequences』の方が広く知られているが、それは「戦後の知的右翼("postwar intellectual Right")」に大きな影響を与えたからである。ラッセル・カーク、ウィリアム・F・バックリー・ジュニア、ウィルモア・ケンドールなど、当時の若手保守派知識人の代表格が、その批判的洞察を高く評価している。出版者のヘンリー・レグナリーは、この本が現代の保守運動に強力な知的基盤を与えたと主張している。1960年代のリバタリアン理論家であり、元米国共産党員であるフランク・S・マイヤーは、ウィーバーに対し、自身が右派に加わる切欠を作ったとして公に感謝の意を表明している。
多くのリベラル派にとって、ウィーバーは見当違いの権威主義者であった。多くの保守派にとって、彼は伝統と自由の擁護者であり、特に伝統に重きを置いていた。南部人にとって、彼は「反近代的("antimodern")」南部の新鮮な擁護者であった。また、他の人々にとっては、歴史修正主義者であった。ラッセル・カークが「儀式自由主義(ritualistic liberalism)」と呼ぶものに対する彼の反論は、保守的な知識人の琴線に触れた。「文化的悲観主義(cultural pessimism)」の伝統に由来する彼の名目主義批判は、どんなに驚くべきものであっても、保守派に新しい哲学的方向性を与えた。彼の著作は、保守的な構造や道徳的な高潔さを否定する現代アメリカ人が増えていることを攻撃し、経験的機能主義を突きつけるものであった。1980年代には、古保守主義者たちが、彼のオールドサウスのビジョンを反モダニズムの表現に応用した。ウィーバーは、アメリカの窮状を定義し、「信仰の意味を知らない時代の信仰と理性の関係("the relationship between faith and reason for an age that does not know the meaning of faith")」を見出すために保守派を鼓舞したとみなされるようになった。
ウィーバーの蔵書は、ミシガン州ヒルズデールのヒルズデール・カレッジに保管されている。
1948. Ideas Have Consequences. Univ. of Chicago Press.
1985 (1953). The Ethics of Rhetoric. Davis CA: Hermagoras Press.
1967 (1957). Rhetoric and Composition, 2nd ed. of Composition: A Course in Reading and Writing. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
1995 (1964). Visions of Order: The Cultural Crisis of Our Time. Bryn Mawr PA: ISI Press.
1965. Life without Prejudice and Other Essays. Chicago: Henry Regnery.
1989 (1968). The Southern Tradition at Bay, Core, George, and Bradford, M.E., eds. Washington DC: Regnery Gateway.
1970. Language is Sermonic: R. M. Weaver on the Nature of Rhetoric, Johannesen, R., Strickland, R., and Eubanks, R.T., eds. Louisiana State Univ. Press.
1987. The Southern Essays of Richard M. Weaver, Curtis, G. M. III, and Thompson, James J. Jr., eds. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund.