Description
Edward Schiappa
Neosophistic Perspectives brings together some of Edward Schiappa's most influential essays on the history of rhetoric, historiography, and the scope of rhetorical studies. Across these essays, Schiappa develops and defends a distinctive "neosophistic" approach to scholarship—one that acknowledges the contingency and constructedness of historical knowledge while resisting the conclusion that history is merely another form of fiction.
Drawing on the work of Richard Rorty, Thomas S. Kuhn, and other post-positivist thinkers, Schiappa argues for a form of "sophisticated modernism" that charts a course between traditional forms of objectivism and more radical forms of postmodern skepticism. His essays challenge conventional accounts of the origins of rhetoric, reconsider the emergence of rhetorical terminology in ancient Greece, and offer a nuanced defense of historical inquiry as a distinct scholarly practice.
The collection also addresses a central question for contemporary rhetorical studies: What is rhetoric? Schiappa argues that rhetoric is best understood not as a fixed object or essence but as a perspective—a vocabulary for making sense of discourse, culture, and human action. Essays on topics ranging from classical rhetoric to the rhetoric of mathematics illustrate both the power and limits of rhetorical analysis.
Taken together, these essays provide a compelling statement of Schiappa's intellectual project and demonstrate why his work has shaped debates in rhetoric, communication, philosophy, classics, and intellectual history for more than three decades.
EDWARD SCHIAPPA’S scholarship has appeared across six disciplines—psychology, philosophy, English, classics, law, and communication—and has significantly influenced debates concerning rhetoric, historiography, public discourse, and the philosophy of language. He is the author of twelve books, including The Transgender Exigency: Defining Sex and Gender in the 21st Century. He was named a Fellow of the Rhetoric Society of America in 2006 and Distinguished Scholar by the National Communication Association in 2009.