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The Rhetorical Theories Of Malebranche: Persuasion Through Imitation Or Attention?, Thomas M. Carr Jr.
The Rhetorical Theories Of Malebranche: Persuasion Through Imitation Or Attention?, Thomas M. Carr Jr.
French Language and Literature Papers
France's most prominent philosopher of the second half of the seventeenth century is reputed to be no friend of rhetoric. Bernard Tocanne declares, "C'est chez Malebranche que se mettent en place tous les arguments mis en oeuvre par les adversaires de la rhétorique à la fin du siècle," and Peter France calls him "a philosopher who had no love for rhetoric." The basis of such judgments is the Oratorian's attacks in the Recherche de la vérité (1674) against the use of the imagination and passions in the eloquence of Tertullian, Seneca, and Montaigne. Malebranche's critique is symptomatic of the legacy …