Rhetoric as possibility (δΰναμις) and the beginning of the commotion [Erschütterung] of logic. Approaches to the Heideggerian reading of Aristotle's Rhetoric.

Abstract

The present research is framed within an attempt to approach Heidegger's reading of Aristotle's Rhetoric. Our purpose is to argue that this reading can be considered as the first step in the project of a commotion of logic [Erschütterung der Logik], which he developed between the years 1924 and 1934, as Heidegger himself states. During this decade, one of the central threads of his thought is the notion of λόγος, which has commonly been understood in the history of philosophy as "reason"; however, Heidegger insists on translating it simply as "language." Thus, in the summer course at the University of Marburg in 1924, the author sets out to conduct a phenomenological reading and interpretation of the Rhetoric, seeking to move away from conventional conceptions that reduce it to a mere technique of discourse. Instead, Heidegger redefines the meaning of rhetoric as a concrete possibility (δΰναμις) of Dasein, where speaking and listening to the other find their place. Therefore, Heidegger's reading of the Rhetoric deserves to be considered as the beginning of this project of commotion, as it marks the first studies that understand λόγος not in a logical-grammatical sense, but simply as language.