• View
• Edit
• History
• Print

The Contributions of Lloyd Bitzer

and studies. A speech communications teacher who began publishing in 1959, Bitzer’s work may be readily divided into two categories: analysis of other rhetoricians and philosophers (predominantly 18th century writers) and advancing his own theory of rhetoric, namely the “rhetorical situation.” The former demonstrates his academic rigor and scholarly research ability; the latter, however, secures his place in the discussion of rhetoric and composition studies scholars.

and fair. His main interests are the works of the Reverend George Campbell and David Hume – particularly in how the work of Hume informs and influences the work of Campbell. Furthermore, he is interested in how the study of rhetoric during the 18th century has shaped the discipline in the 20th century.

“The Lively Idea: A Study of Hume’s Influence in Campbell’s ‘Philosophy of Rhetoric.’” Furthermore, Bitzer edited the re-publication of “The Philosophy of Rhetoric” in 1963. Comparing Campbell’s work to Hume’s own philosophy, Bitzer writes, “Major elements of Hume’s view - including the primacy of imagination and feeling, the attitudes of empiricism and scepticism, the doctrine of the association of ideas, the process of experience and, above all, the analysis of belief - were taken over by Campbell without significant modification and became constituents of his own framework” (“Hume’s Philosophy,” 140). Of these elements, empiricism, experience, and the analysis of belief are recurrent themes in Bitzer’s analysis of the New Rhetoricians of the 18th century. In Bitzer’s view, these rhetoricians were too attached to empiricism and limited by their own processes of experience and analysis of belief. In a particularly pointed criticism of Campbell, published in 1983, Bitzer writes,

that “they lacked utility” comes up several times in Bitzer’s work. This is one of his major departures from that school of rhetoric; Bitzer worked with a much narrower definition of the discipline.

in 1968 in the inaugural issue of The Journal of Philosophy and Rhetoric. This essay advances Bitzer’s theory of rhetoric as situational; the critical response was so strong and sustained that this essay alone guaranteed Bitzer a place in rhetorical studies history.

as being comprised of three parts: exigence (a flaw or defect in the environment that can be positively modified), audience (a person or people who have the power to positively modify the exigence), and constraints (the tools of persuasion available to the rhetor to convince the audience to take action). Furthermore, the exigence must be capable of being modified by discourse for the situation to be rhetorical. Additionally, Bitzer argues that the situation calls for an appropriate or fitting response. One of the most revealing statements of this essay is, “Rhetorical discourse is called into existence by situation; the situation which the rhetor perceives amounts to an invitation to create and present discourse” (9). In other words, Bitzer puts the situation (particularly the exigence) in control of the discourse – the rhetor has far less to do with the shaping of the discourse than in other theories. Moreover, any discourse that is not controlled by a rhetorical situation does not fit Bitzer’s definition of rhetoric.

of the exigence controlling the discourse, of the situation dictating what an appropriate response would be. Richard Vatz, in particular, disputed Bitzer’s work. In 1981, he wrote, “there is no such thing as a discrete and discernible situation, that meaning does not inhere in facts or events, and that the linguistic depiction of events by rhetors reflects rhetor choice always and situational demands never” (99). Other scholars extended Vatz’s criticism, while many came to Bitzer’s defense. The overwhelming response led Marilyn Young to claim in 2001, “Few contributions to rhetorical theory have generated as much controversy over such a sustained period as Lloyd Bitzer’s conception of the rhetorical situation” (275). A current assessment of situational rhetoric might side with Vatz, saying the rhetor is empowered to make decisions that shape his or her discourse; at the same time, the rhetorical situation (as Bitzer describes it) determines what choices are available for that particular discourse.

the profile of the rhetor, Bitzer had at least one foot planted firmly in the world of classical rhetoric; much of his scholarship is dedicated to critically examining the effects of the New Rhetoric from the 18th century. As the struggle between postmodern and more traditional views intensified, it is not surprising that the time when Bitzer did most of his writing is dominated by theoretical concerns with little mention of classroom practice. Bitzer retired from teaching in 1994, but he continues to write and research. His work on rhetorical theory, while more commonly studied in speech and communications communities than in composition studies, continues to have lasting implications and relevance to the rhetoric and composition disciplines.

Works Cited