Pragmatism, Democracy, and the Necessity of Rhetoric

"Robert Danisch has given us a terrific book that will be of interest to a variety of scholars working in classical rhetoric and pragmatism, and those interested in the ways pragmatism and rhetorical theory can be brought together to inform ongoing efforts to revitalize democratic communication. This book proves that the uniquely American history of pragmatism is a goldmine of fascinating and important ideas not yet fully appreciated."—Edward Schiappa, Paul W. Frenzel Chair of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota

"In this suggestive study, Robert Danisch proceeds in typically pragmatist fashion, combining old ideas with new in order to achieve consequential results toward meeting our current intellectual and political challenges. Danisch usefully helps us think through the relations of rhetorical strategy to pragmatist principle and of classical rhetorical traditions to contemporary turns in neopragmatism. This is a welcome contribution to rhetorical pragmatism and its ongoing effort to promote sustainable cultures of democratic politics"—Steven J. Mailloux, professor of English and Chancellor's Professor of Rhetoric, University of California, Irvine

"This valuable and wide-ranging study creatively rereads the pragmatist tradition and brings it into contact with rhetorical theory. Robert Danisch reanimates sophistic and Aristotelian categories and convincingly argues that rhetoric completes the pragmatist philosophical projects of William James and John Dewey. In a particularly exciting series of chapters, Danisch goes on to show how Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jane Addams, and Alain Locke remake judicial, deliberative, and epideictic rhetoric in ways fitting for a large-scale, heterogeneous democracy. The book enriches our understanding of both pragmatism and rhetoric."—Peter Simonson, University of Colorado, Boulder