Rachel Decker
IS 246 Winter 2014
February 19 2014

Bitzer, L.F. (1968). The rhetorical situation. Philosophy & Rhetoric. 1(1): 1-14.

Abstract

Bitzer argues in this article that while the literature, up until this point, has done a great deal to discuss rhetoric in terms of methodology, content, audience, or oratory, it has yet to discuss the situation that leads to a rhetorical discourse. The rhetorical situation is broadly described as the contexts in which speakers create rhetorical discourse. It is the elements that come together at a specific time establishing a situation that then necessitate rhetoric. In other words, the rhetoric is a response to a specific type of situation. The two phenomena are inextricably linked just as he describes, “a question must exist as a necessary condition of an answer” (6). More specifically, he establishes that there are three parts to a rhetorical situation: First, the exigence, or a problem in the world that can be changed by human interaction, requiring persuasion. The exigence is something that invites discourse and is capable of being altered by “positive modification” (7) (acknowledging that there are situations that cannot be
changed such as death, which are then considered not rhetorical situations). Second, the audience, which are the mediators of change. The audience, as he clarifies, are not just mere listeners, but
are capable of being influenced and are actively involved in transformation. Third is constraints, which are unconscious limiters such as other people, relationships, and ideologies among others, which have the power to constrain a decision or action needed to change the exigence. Lastly, he describes how the response must be fitting to the rhetorical situation and it is considered fitting if, “it meets the requirements established by the situation” (10). He admits, however, that the complexity of reality and the characteristics of human beings allows for rhetorical discourse to

not always fit the situation that necessitated it. Situations can become weakened by complexities such as multiple or conflicting exigences, competing demands on our time, competing roles as both rhetor and audience, limited or competing constraints or maturation and decay/persistence of rhetorical situations.