Sixteenth Century Journal · 1994 · 144 citations · 0 references
HumanitiesLiteratureModern PhilosophyRhetoricRhetorical StudiesArgumentative WritingClassical RhetoricRenaissance PoetryAristotelian MetaphysicsAristotelian ProseClassical Rhetorical TheoryRenaissance HermeneuticsRhetoric In HistoriographyRhetorical ConstructionRhetorical ConventionsRhetorical Tradition
Mack seeks to navigate recent controversies surrounding Valla's work, noting its originality and skill in attacking Aristotelian logic metaphysics while pointing out its inconsistencies and residual Aristotelianism. The book offers a new interpretation of Lorenzo Valla's *Repastinatio dialecticae et philosophiae* (1439) and Rudolph Agricola's *De inventione dialectica* (1479). It concludes with a survey of Agricola's influence on rhetorical thinking and reading and writing practices through print, education, and intermediaries such as Erasmus, Vives, Melanchthon, and Ramus. Mack's commentary establishes Agricola's originality and coherence and demonstrates that *De inventione dialectica* is a major text in the Western rhetorical tradition.
This book presents a new interpretation of the two most innovative renaissance works on the use of language, Lorenzo Valla's Repastinatio dialecticae et philosophiae (1439) and Rudolph Agricola's De inventione dialectica (1479). Mack attempts to find a path through the controversies which have recently raged around Valla's work, acknowledging the originality and skill of his attack on Aristotelian logic metaphysics, but recognizing the inconsistency (and even the Aristotelianism) of his alternative system. Mack provides the first full commentary on Agricola's work in modern times, establishing its originality and coherence. Far from being a mere popularisation of Valla, De inventione dialectica turns out to be one of the great texts of the Western rhetorical tradition. The book concludes with a survey of Agricola's influence on rhetorical thinking and practices of reading and writing, through print, the educational system, and such intermediaries as Erasmus, Vives, Melanchthon and Ramus.