Definition of Hu(MAN)-Burke
What did Burke say about using language maturely?
"We cannot use language maturely until we are spontaneously at home in irony." -you cannot use language well until you understand that words are a metaphorical nature of language _at home-"comfortable" _spontaneous-"uncomfortable"
Kenneth Burke (History)
-Lived to be 95 years old -Heavy drinker "mush mouthed" -got interviewed by the Comm Dept at the University of Iowa and it was completely unintelligible -you can get your PhD (dissertation) by transcribing those tapes (no one has done it yet)
Burkes First Clause in Definition of Human
1. Man is the symbol using (symbol making symbol misusing) animal. -"Do we simply use words, or do they not also use us?" -Use words and symbols to classify and organize the world around us (ex. that shirt is black, the snow is white etc.) -Words guide the way we think -symbols are tools and the more you have the better off you are at viewing the world around you.
What are Burke's Five Clause's in the Definition of Human?
1. Man is the symbol using (symbol making symbol misusing) animal. 2. Inventor of the Negative or (moralized by the negative, hard for us to think without the Negative. 3. Seperated from his natural condition by instruments of his own making. 4. Goaded by a spirit of Hierarchy. (or moved by a sense of order) 5. Rotten with Perfection.
Burkes Second Clause in Definition of Human
2. Inventor of the Negative or (moralized by the negative, hard for us to think without the Negative. -Mankind made a huge leap forward when they created a symbol for zero, an actual symbol for nothing _animals dont have a concept of nothing _only understand what is instead of what is not -Humans define things in terms of what they are not
Burkes Third Clause in Definition of Human
3. Seperated from his natural condition by instruments of his own making. -instruments=symbols -we learn symbols quickly because that is what our parents speak to us in -whatever set of symbols your parents speak is the set of symbols you will learn (ex. bilingual children learn two sets of symbols very easily because they are exposed to them so early) -you cannot give up symbols! once you know them they are stuck with you forever.
Burkes fourth Clause in Definition of Human
4. Goaded by a spirit of Hierarchy. (or moved by a sense of order) -rank and structure the world around us -can create because we are moralized with the negative
Burkes fifth Clause in Definition of Human
5. Rotten with Perfection. entelechial- we want to capture the complete essence of something with one word, you cannot do that, so you fail sin,guilt,redemption
Burkes sixth Clause in Definition of Human
6. Acquiring foreknowledge of death Burke created this clause 15 years later
Give an example of Burkes Third Clause.
Ex. When an infant cries, you panic, so you try to figure out what the problem is -each cry has a different sond/meaning -a child learns to change his cries to make different meanings to tell you what is going on.
Explain the difference between Motion and Action
MOTION just is and just happens ACTION is a choice, there is an ethic to it. (ex. you choose what to eat [action] but you don't think about digesting it [motion])
What kind of animals are we?
Non-Symbolic Beings Humans are the only beings that're reflexive; because symbols are so closely related to tools. "we have words that describe words"
What happens once we have created the negative?
Once we create the negative--->then we can create hierarchies--->then we can create the Horatory (moral) -have to understand that words aren't what they mean -WORDS ARE A METAPHOR, language is and is not at the same time. (ex. Magritte- "This is not a pipe.") -"We cannot use language maturely until
What is the Irony of language?
the irony of language is and is not at the same time.
