Burke's Definition of Man

What are the five clauses of Burke's definition?

1. Man is the symbol-using (making and misusing) animal 2. Man in the inventor of the negative (or moralized by it) 3. Man is separated from his natural condition by instruments of his own making (symbols) 4. Goaded by a spirit of hierarchy (moved by sense of order) 5. Rotten with Perfection later... 6. Acquires foreknowledge of death

5. Rotten with Perfection

a. Entelechial: following something to its biological conclusion. (feel bad if not fulfilled all the way.) a. See ourselves with perfection, if I don't fulfill I feel bad. b. Search for perfection makes us unhappy c. cycle of sin and redemption d. Squirrels don't feel bad when and acorn grows into a tree.

2. Man in the inventor of the negative (or are

a. No Negatives in nature (no good or bad, just is) b. Animals don't think, "Things aren't there" c. Man found a symbol that represented nothing. d. Hortatory- moral, once I have negative, I can rank things. Difference between shall and shall not. e. Can't use language maturely until we are spontaneously at home in irony

4. Goaded by a spirit of hierarchy (moved by sense of order)

a. Rank and structure world around us b. Creates guilt if top isn't attained

1. Man is the symbol-using (making and misusing) animal

a. Reality constructed by symbols (male, female) b. Language affects us subconsciously c. If we study their language, we see their culture

3. Man is separated from his natural condition by instruments of his own making (symbols)

a. Start with blank slate, but you can't unlearn it. -parents taught us b. Humans are reflexive