肯尼思·伯克的辞格认同观探研——层递格的认同功能考察

On Kenneth Burke's Identification Figure: Climax

美国修辞学家肯尼思·伯克的认同观被视为西方当代修辞学中最为核心的理论,其影响堪比亚里士多德的说服理论;然而,他的辞格认同观却至今尚未引起研究者的关注。本文将通过聚焦《动机修辞学》中的代表性篇章来揭示其辞格的认同功能说及所例释的层递格的认同机制,并辅以《四书》中的典型层递警句加以佐证。文章还尝试从格式塔心理学和皮亚杰发生认识论中寻找相关原则对层递的形式认同功能作出合理解释,以补伯克辞格认同理据的缺失。

Kenneth Burke's 'identification', the most essential concept in the contemporary Western rhetoric, is no less influential than Aristotle's 'persuasion' theory. However, his identification concerning figures of speech has not yet drawn adequate attention. Focusing on the representative passage in A Rhetoric of Motives, this essay explicates his identification with a particular figure of 'climax', illustrated by typical examples taken from Confucian Four Books. In search for causes of identification arising from climax, Gestalt psychology and Piaget's cognitive mechanism have also been explored to make up for the loss of theoretical support of Burke's identification figures.