ON DISCOURSE AND THE CLASSICAL RHETORICAL CANON: A HISTORY OF THE ISSUE

Abstract

Philosophical analysis of the problem of discourse means a step away from traditional academic philosophy in the direction of what is sometimes contemptuously called “postmodernism”. Indeed, this concept is distinguished by a high degree of uncertainty and debatability; its theoretical status is not clear - perhaps it is just a sign of belonging to the "philosophical pop"? Its disciplinary affiliation also remains in question - does it belong to linguistics, political science, sociology, and epistemology? Without a doubt, we can only state the following. The discourse boom is the result of a number of intellectual and social factors: modern communication technologies and the power of the media, active interdisciplinary diffusion, a linguistic turn in philosophy, and the introduction of the term “communication” into philosophical use. There are many “theories” and “definitions” of discourse. The most general, mild and generally accepted of them identifies discourse with argumentative communication. Its insufficiency, as well as the desire to understand what the development and use of this term and concept gives to the theory of knowledge, is the starting point of our consideration.