Blog Post #9

   Bitzer talks about a few rhetorical situations. The three constituents are exigence, audience, and constraints. “An exigence is rhetorical when it is capable of positive modification and when positive modifications requires discourse or can be assisted by discourse” (Bitzer). The example used is air pollution, because it makes people want to reduce the amount of pollution. The second is audience. “A rhetorical audience consists only of those person who are capable of being influenced by discourse and of being mediators of change” (Bitzer). For example, scientists and poets present their works to different audiences. The people scientists present to are “capable of perceiving knowledge” (Bitzer), and the poets write to people who are “capable of participating in aesthetic experiences induced by poetry” (Bitzer). Lastly, there is constraints. Constraints are “made up of persons, objects, and relations which are parts of the situation because they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence” (Bitzer). These would include, for example, an orator’s personal character, his logical proofs, and his style. The two main classes of constraints are Aristotle’s artistic proofs and inartistic proofs. Artistic proofs are “those originated or managed by the rhetor and his method,” and inartistic proofs are “those other constraints, in the situation, which may be operative” (Bitzer).